


Two Worlds Collided

by AshleyMarie123



Category: The Magicians (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Non-Magical, M/M, fast burn (is that the opposite of a slow burn?), muggle!quentin
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-31
Updated: 2020-05-03
Packaged: 2021-01-15 04:43:12
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 23,183
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21247637
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AshleyMarie123/pseuds/AshleyMarie123
Summary: Eliot Waugh is a gifted Magician. Without much (any) effort, he is at the top of his third year class at Brakebills University for Magical Pedagogy and is destined to have a successful magical career. He already has his life planned out: graduate his magic school, get a high-paying magic job, buy a top-floor condo next to his Magician best friend, snag a hot Magician husband, and live out his days luxuriating in decadence and magic.But he finds his seemingly simple plans derailed when he goes home with a new classmate and meets her very non-Magician best friend.How do you sustain a real relationship with someone when you can't tell them the most important, defining fact about yourself?





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Helloooooooooo!!!!! Welcome to my first long-form story :-) I am really exited about this one, and I hope you enjoy. 
> 
> This story will not be uploaded on a consistent basis (sorry if you get into it and I leave you hanging for a bit), but I do promise to finish it. I am still mapping out the second half, but I am super excited for the first half that I already have plotted out. 
> 
> I welcome all constructive criticism, tips, and of course positive feedback. 
> 
> Also the title might change because I forgot to pick a title before logging in to post the prologue and I'm not sure i'm 100% down with this one. I think it's a lyric from the Tarzan movie.

“Yeah well as long as you actually stay for the whole party I know I’ll have fun. No hiding in your room this time, huh?” Julia laughed as she leaned against the post of the pay phone.

“No promises, but I’ll do my best since it’s for your birthday,” came the response through the receiver.

Julia smiled as she fingered the phone cord. The weather at Brakebills had just started to turn and the most lovely breeze was rolling through campus. She closed her eyes and leaned her head against the frame.

“That’s all I can ask for Q. I’m so excited to see you next month. Miss you, love you.”

“Miss you, love you too, Jules,” Quentin responded softly.

When Julia opened her eyes she saw Eliot and Margo walking together, hand in hand, in her direction. She smiled towards them and gave a small wave as they acknowledged her.

“I wish I didn’t have to but I gotta run, Q. Classes call and all that.”

“Go kick some Ivy League ass. Hey, good luck on your exam tomorrow!” Quentin responded.

“Thanks. I’ll let you know how it goes. And I definitely will call before I see you next month,” she responded with a smile. Eliot and Margo had reached her and were standing a little more closely than she normally would have been comfortable with had it been anyone else while she was on the phone. But Eliot and Margo abided by their own rules of social decorum and she had given up on fighting it. Margo stared at her with big doe eyes while leaning her head on Eliot’s shoulder, their hands still clasped. Eliot looked bored, as usual.

“Sounds great, Jules. Talk to you soon.”

“Talk soon,” she responded before putting the phone on the receiver.

“You know next time if you want to take the phone and talk to my friends you can, it would be easier than creeping by and trying to listen in while I’m on the phone with them,” she smirked as she turned around and started to stroll towards the main campus building. She didn’t have to turn around to know that Eliot and Margo were following her.

“And what on Earth would we have to talk about with a Muggle?” Eliot scoffed from behind.

“How pointless and mundane their lives are?” Margo responded.

“Life _is_ pointless and mundane, Bambi. Why would I need to be reminded by someone whose life is even more pointless and mundane than mine?”

Julia rolled her eyes. “Just because someone isn’t a Magician doesn’t mean their life is pointless and mundane, no matter how monotonous and predictable yours is, Waugh.” Julia countered with no heat. In the short three months Julia had been at Brakebills and known Eliot and Margo, she learned just how cynical they could be (particularly Eliot) and knew they only meant about 28% of the things they said.

Julia glanced at her watch out of habit, not really taking in the time it read. She always forgot how the wards of the campus affected analog clocks and reading time this way wasn’t exactly reliable. She glanced at the sundial over the entrance of the main campus building, noting that she had a good twenty minutes before they needed to be at their next class. She parked herself on a bench they were about to pass, and Eliot and Margo followed in kind. Margo swung her legs over Eliot’s lap and rested her head on his shoulder, his arm across the bench behind her. 

“It is pretty impressive that you keep in touch with your Muggle friends from home. I don’t think I even know of anyone else who goes or went here that does that,” Margo observed. Julie saw that Eliot was about to speak, more than likely to interject a quip about how no one else on campus was as boring as Julia so they wouldn’t need to seek out even more boring companionship (again), so she beat him to it.

“Quentin is my best friend. I don’t see why me going here should end our friendship. It is a little difficult, lying to him, but it’s for the best. I rather tell him white lies and work harder to keep in touch than lose him completely. He’s worth it,” she stated easily.

“Him **_and_** the ex,” Eliot drawled, turning his head to Margo and raising his eyebrows.

“Hey, James and I wouldn’t have broken up if it weren’t for this magical wrench in my plans. He’s a great guy. I can only lie so much, it would have been impossible to maintain a real relationship with him while I was here. It was totally amicable. He’s already seeing someone else too, I just found out. Anyway, him and Quentin are actually throwing me a birthday party at their apartment next month. No one here has stepped up to the birthday party plate yet. They are obviously better friends,” she grinned, nudging Eliot gently on the shoulder.

Eliot’s expression immediately changed from mildly imperious to extremely eager.

“I will explore my fascination with your ex-lover and the boy that is in love with you throwing you a birthday party at a later time. Take us with you. Margo and I. We need to accompany you to this party,” Eliot said, tuning fully towards Julia and seemingly forgetting Margo’s physical existence as she protested being unceremoniously heaved from his body.

Julia laughed out loud. “Why the hell would you want to come? You were literally just telling me how boring “Muggles” are – which by the way you really need to stop borrowing Harry Potter terms. Why would you want to go to a party with a bunch of non-Magicians?”

Eliot took Julia’s hands in his and she looked at him skeptically.

“Julia. I don’t care about your boring Muggle friends. And we _can_ use the word Muggle. JK is a Magician, she sold out and wrote those books based on the Brakebills equivalent in the UK. Muggle has always been a Magician word. Regardl-”

“JK Rowling is a Magician for real?!” Julia squealed.

“That is not the most pressing matter at the moment!” Eliot chided. He began again as he saw Julia attempting to protest. “Regardless, it is not your boring friends we care about. You are going to a house party in the city. There will be no one from Brakebills there. Do you know how bored I am with seeing the same 200 faces every day? Except for Bambi, of course,” He finished with a kiss to her temple.

“Hey,” Julia whined before Eliot leaned over to kiss her temple too.

“You’re still new and shiny, Knowledge Girl. I’m not bored of you yet either,” he promised. He settled back into the bench and Margo reclaimed her position, draping over him.

Another Knowledge student walked by and gave a little wave to Julia. She smiled in return and turned back to her companions on the bench.

“You can go to the city any time you want. I just don’t get why you want to go to this one house party.”

“It’s the quintessential grad-student experience. House party in a house that’s not directly on a college campus. Absolutely knowing with 110% certainty that we are the smartest people in the room. The promise of a one-night-stand that we don’t have to see very day, multiple times a day. A free place to crash. The possibilities of cocktail crafting with the finest beverages New York City has to offer,” Eliot finished, looking dreamily into the clouds.

“I think it is going to be a lot of red solo cups and bottom shelf liquor. James and Q are legit grad students. They are broke. It’s not going to be super fancy,” Julia said carefully.

“Sounds like a challenge, El,” Margo grinned, nudging him.

“Crafting the perfect cocktail in a completely Muggle setting with bargain basement stock. My Everest,” Eliot nodded.

“Please let us come, Julia. I haven’t been to the city in forever, and Eliot hasn’t left campus since he started here,” Margo pouted, then stuttered as Eliot shot her a look.

“Well I mean he’s left, but ya know… Anyway, please Julia. It would be really fun. We promise to be good. You’ll be able to show off your super hot and smart Yale friends, we will help back up your story, EL and I will find some cute new boy to sleep with, so really everyone wins.”

Julia huffed. It would be nice to introduce Q and James to her new friends, linking her two worlds in a way that she didn’t think possible before. And it might make things easier, in the long run, having people that would help back up her story, help with easing the pretense of a world she had to pretend she was living in.

She glanced over at Eliot and Margo, cheeks touching and both staring at her with pleading eyes and hopeful smiles.

“Fine!” she laughed. “Just stop looking so creepy!”

Eliot and Margo kissed each other chastely on the lips.

“We are going to tear up the big city, Bambi,” Eliot grinned, forehead resting against hers.

“You won’t regret this Julia. Going back home with me and Eliot on your arms is going to make you look so cool for once,” Margo beamed, hugging Eliot.

“You are the worst friends ever,” Julia replied, getting up and walking towards the main building to head to her class.

“But super hot and fun and you love being around us!” Eliot called after her with Margo giggling into his neck. 


	2. Chapter 1: Meet

<strike> Julia’s mother has never been overly involved in her daughter’s life.  </strike>

Julia’s mother has never been involved in her daughter’s life. 

When Julia was a little girl, this hurt her more than she could comprehend. Mrs. Wicker’s casual disinterest in anything Julia-related was confusing as it was unnecessary. Marie Wicker was a successful high level executive of a multinational pharmaceutical company. She made enough money to ensure that she and her two daughters lived more than comfortably and reasoned that this is where her major responsibility ended. It took years of therapy and fractured conversations with her mother to finally come to terms with their relationship; and though Julia would never fully be OK with their relationship, she was at least now in a place where she was at peace with it. 

There were times, few and far between, where having an emotionally distant and financially over-compensating parent came in just a little handy. 

Marie had assumed when Julia started talking about going to grad school that she would be continuing her time at NYU, so she resigned her apartment lease for another year. When Julia explained that she was actually going to Yale and room and board was included, Marie sighed and said, “We might as well keep the lease at this place - you know how strict these contracts are. It would cost almost as much to break it as it would to ride it out. It will give you a place to stay when you visit your friends, and your sister can use it when she’s in the city.”

“ _ This _ was your apartment in undergrad? Holy shit Julia. Your mom is like, the 1%,” Margo gawked, dropping her suitcase in the middle of the light-filled living room. She turned a full 360 degrees with her mouth open. “This is some classy shit.”

“Yeah, it was her compensation for being emotionally unavailable my entire life,” Julia shrugged.

“Yeah, emotional availability is great but did you see these vaulted ceilings?”

“Now Bambi let’s just appreciate the space for what it is and not needlessly prod at childhood trauma, hmm?” Eliot asked, setting his bags next to hers and raising an eyebrow in her direction. 

Julia gave him a thankful look and walked past them. “OK, so the second bedroom is this way. Are you guys sure you’re ok sharing? Cause I can take the sofa and one of your can have my room.”

“You’re almost as good of a hostess as me. No, you’ve already extended yourself by letting us crash your weekend. Bambi and I are fine with sharing a room.”

They spent the rest of the late morning settling in to the space: Julia showing them their bedroom, the shared bathroom, how to use the TV and where the bar cart was. They made mimosas and lounged in the living room making sure they were all on the same page with their cover stories about school and quizzing each other on random Yale facts so they didn’t get caught in a lie. They were mindlessly chatting when there was a buzzing sound and Julia jumped up. 

“That’s Q!” she said with a big smile. She ran over to the intercom next to the front door. “Q?”

“Yeah Jules, it’s me!” the staticy voice on the other side said. 

“Buzzing you up!” she replied.

She gave a little bounce. 

“Are you sure you two don’t want to come to lunch with us?”

“No no, Margo and I can entertain ourselves. You need some solo time with your best friend. Enjoy,” Eliot shook his head. Julia agreed and there was a quick knock at the door a moment later. 

“Q!” Julia squealed, throwing the door open and jumping into the arms of the man in front of her. 

“Showtime, Bambi,” Eliot nodded, adjusting the collar of his shirt and standing up from his spot on the sofa.

Quentin and Julia were pulled apart from their tight embrace and Julia ushered Quentin inside. She was beaming more than Eliot and Margo had ever seen. 

“Guys, this is Quentin, my best friend since… ever! Quentin, this is Eliot and Margo from school.”

Eliot needed a moment to process the being in front of him. 

Eliot Waugh appreciated the male and the female form. Though he detested labels he assigned himself as queer. He enjoyed the company of women on occasion, preferably when paired with another man, but he had one-on-one interactions with women that still made him have to adjust himself if he found himself reminiscing on them in public. However men were always his preference. A strong jaw, facial hair, broad chests, big hands, a nice dick, of course. These were all things that sent Eliot’s heart a-flutter. 

Eliot’s heart was a-fluttering double time at the moment and his focus had barely strayed from Quentin’s face. 

Quentin nervously tucked some of his shoulder length hair behind his ear. “Uh, hi! It’s really nice to meet you guys. Julia talks about you like, all the time. Like when I talk to her. Good to meet you,” Quentin rushed out. 

Margo smirked and raised an eyebrow as she reclaimed her seat on the armchair behind her. “Same to you, Quentin. I thought you were going to descend from the Heavens the way Julia goes on about you.” Quentin chuckled as everyone followed Margo’s lead to sit. “I’ll work on my entrance for the next group of her friends I meet. I hate to disappoint.”

‘ _ You did not disappoint’ _ and  _ ‘Please take off your pants’  _ were the two thoughts rolling around in Eliot’s mind but he decided against voicing either of them at the moment. 

“Q, I can’t believe how much I’ve missed you. It’s so good to see you. You look great, even if you refuse to cut your hair,” Julia grinned while hugging Quentin from the side on the sofa. 

_ His hair is perfect and I want to pull on it while he- _

Margo interrupted Eliot’s internal monologue. “Yeah yeah yeah, you can get with the lovey dovey when you two are at lunch together. So Quentin, out with the dirt. Give us the juiciest goss you have on our nerdy girl Julia here.”

Quentin laughed nervously and ran his hand through his hair. “God, if you think Julia is nerdy I can’t even imagine what you’ll think of me by the end of the night,” he finished with a nervous chuckle. 

_ I think by then you’ll be halfway naked with my hand in your- _

“And anyway maybe we shouldn't be spending the first 4 minutes of my two dearest sets of friends meeting talking about my nerdiness?” Julia laughed and rolled her eyes. 

“Did you hear that El? We’re dearest,” Margo said with a hand over her heart and faux pout.

“We finally made it, Bambi.”

Quentin smiled graciously. “Are you both in Julia’s cohort, then?”

“Not really. Margo and I are both in the MBA program, but she is a year ahead of me. We met at the women’s leadership group on campus. I met Eliot though Margo - Eliot is in the sciences and I still can’t remember what program,” Julia said with a smile and shrug. Eliot rolled his eyes. And Julia was worried that  _ they _ were going to blow her cover. 

“Applied Physics, though I don’t know why I keep sharing that as for some reason you refuse to learn those two words,” Eliot provided. 

“Really cool. What are you hoping to do with your MBA Margo?” Quentin asked, settling into his seat and delving into the required getting-to-know-you small talk. 

“Run the goddamn world.” Margo gave him a smug smile and leaned back in her chair while dramatically crossing her legs. 

Quentin waited a beat and when he realized she wasn’t going to elaborate replied, “Oh… well, that seems, uh, overwhelming. Good… luck.”

Quentin gave up on that line of questioning but still seemed determined to make a good first impression. 

“Are you guys excited for the party tonight?” he asked. Eliot responded before Margo could say something to send poor Quentin into meltdown.

“We very much are. Thank you for allowing us to crash. New Haven is dreadfully dull and when Julia told us she was coming to the city we practically begged her to let us join. Are you sure you don’t need us to bring any kind of supplies? Margo and I are happy to grab anything you and your roommate still need while you’re all out at lunch.”

Quentin finally met Eliot’s eyes directly and it took all of Eliot’s strength to control his face to hold its normally cool facade. Inside his heart was melting into a buttery puddle, drinking in Quentin’s features and dark brown eyes.

“No we’re uh, pretty much all totally covered. James and I got like all the last stuff we need yesterday. Thanks though. Oh Jules, James is making that Jungle Juice from senior year in high school that we all drank and-”

“Oh my god, the one that we all almost died drinking? I’m so stoked!”

“Jungle Juice. Lovely,” Eliot said quietly, raising his glass to Margo before downing the rest of its contents. Margo sighed at Eliot before turning to Julia. 

“Hey, before you go I have an outfit opinion question for you. Andale,” Margo motioned for Julia to follow her to the bedroom where her suitcase was. 

“I’m hurt Bambi, truly,” Eliot said as the two girls walked away. 

“She’s just going to get a second opinion from you and do whatever you say,” Julia replied and Margo shrugged and nodded. 

Eliot chuckled and turned his attention back towards Quentin. He looked almost petrified, being left alone with a new acquaintance without Julia or another person to alleviate the pressure to entertain. Eliot was about to start a conversation before Quentin quickly spoke.

“So, uh, is it OK if I ask what you are doing with an Applied Physics masters or will you give me a weird answer that will make me regret speaking in public like usual?”

Eliot laughed and smiled up at Quentin. “I’m in a pretty specialized program - I have a focus in aeronautical engineering.” 

“Wow. That seems almost as overwhelming as the world domination thing” Quentin responded. Eliot shook his head. 

“Margo is horrible at meeting new people as she doesn’t understand that inside jokes don’t translate to the general public. Margo does want to do a little bit of everything and is too overwhelmed to narrow down her options so she just defaults to world domination. In actuality I think she could either be a political consultant or the next Anna Wintour. I’m trying desperately to figure out a career that combines the two but to date I’m coming up short. I'm a luckier case. I’ve always had a passion for anything surrounding the concept of flight, airplanes and gymnasts from the circus and all that, so it strangely felt like a natural path. It has its challenges but I really love this course of study. I have a strange… aptitude for it.” 

“Pretty killer skill set to have an aptitude for. You won't be like the rest of us schmucks graduating during a recession with a Comparative Lit masters,” Quentin laughed.

“And if I recall from Julia’s incessant fawning over you, you’ll be one of those schmucks?”

Quentin laughed again. “Leave it to Julia to go all the way to Yale and still play my cheerleader. Yeah, I will definitely be one of them. I just... I love reading and stories so much. I love breaking them down and getting lost in them and interpreting them. Every since I was a little kid, and I just knew that my life would have to do something with books, well, you know, since I was old enough to realize that the Hogwarts letter was never actually arriving,” Quentin joked and looked at the floor. 

Where Eliot thought he would feel insouciance if faced with this kind of joke at any time in his life but what he actually felt at this moment was that his chest ached with… pity?

“Naturally,” he pushed out a forced laugh. 

“Anyway, I uh, ended up getting into this program and I’m super stoked with what I’m learning but I’m not sure if it was a good decision for, you know, the long term. Teaching Intro to Lit classes at the local community college isn’t exactly going to bring home the airplane designing bucks.”

Quentin's hand was scrubbing at the back of his neck and his face was full blown red. Eliot could tell Quentin wanted to stick his actual foot in his actual mouth. 

“Sorry, that was supposed to be like, humorously self-deprecating but it reached a super awkward level.”

Eliot just smiled cooly.

“No awkward offense taken. And not to be trite, but money isn’t everything. You seem to have a passion for what you do and that counts a hell of a lot more than a huge paycheck.”

“Oh, of course… but… you know. It’s nice.”

They both burst out laughing. “I can’t say I disagree with you there,” Eliot smiled. 

“Anyway, you’re right, it’s not everything. I’m sure I would be happy with another career that made more money if I were someone else and had different natural skills and interests. But… I’m me and I just…. God I just love books. They’re just wonderful. And I’ve been volunteering with this high school literacy program as part of my course of study and it’s just… gosh I know I sound really lame, but it has been the most rewarding experience, helping kids find joy in reading. I’m just… happier than I thought I could be in a while.”

Eliot stared at Quentin. 

“It doesn't sound lame at all. It sounds amazingly gratifying. And you’re sharing a remarkable and life-changing gift. That’s wonderful,” Eliot said seriously. 

Quentin finally met Eliot’s eye and gave him a smile. They held each other's gaze for a few beats before Quentin finally looked away and joked, “Cool so if you wanna come home with me and explain that to my parents that would be fantastic.”

Before Eliot could make a quip about being fine with meeting his parents this early into the relationship, the girls entered the room again, Margo toting a small bag with her. 

“Alright, fashion crisis averted. Let’s get going Q, I’m verging on starving.”

“Cool! Uh James and Claire are already at the place we’re meeting. I figured we could just do that 24 hour diner on Lexington?”

“Scotty’s? God how many late night french fry runs did we do from that place in undergrad? I think ordering fries might give me PTSD but I’m down for anything else there,” She said while shrugging on her coat.

Quentin followed suit and got into his coat as well. 

“Alright guys, I’ll be back in a bit. Here is the spare keys to the building and apartment. I’ll need to shower and everything when I get back so if you guys want to start getting ready while I’m gone that would be perfect. I’ll be back by, I don't know like 5 or so?” Julia asked, giving Quentin a questioning look. He shrugged and nodded. 

They all said their goodbyes and Eliot wasn’t sure but he kind of sort of thought Quentin gave him a direct-and-maybe-flirty look as he was saying bye, and Eliot couldn’t help but give him his best grin back as the door closed. 

Margo eyed him suspiciously as she knelt in front of the bag she brought out with her. 

“Well he’s a nerd,” she said flatly. 

“He is,” Eliot agreed noncommittally, flipping through the magazine on Julia’s coffee table. 

“Like a huge nerd. Like Julia is a nerd for being a Knowledge student, but he is on like, a super nerd level,” Margo continued. He could feel Margo staring at him from her spot on the floor but he refused to give into her needling. 

“The nerdiest,” he responded. Why did this  _ People _ magazine have to be from 7 months ago?

“Any other feedback to share with the class, Mr. Waugh?” she asked. 

“What? I’ve spoken to him for about 5 minutes. He’s a nerd. But he’s Julia’s friend so let’s be nice to him, shall we?”

“We’re not nice to people,” she said suspiciously, slowly examining the outfit options from the bag. “God if all the people at this party are like him I might as well have left all of this at home and just brought fucking  _ jeggings _ .”

“Now now Bambi, let’s not get sacrilegious over there, shall we?” he said in gentle mock-horror, placing the magazine down on his lap. 

“Did you see his baggy jeans? And that sweater? El, he could not pull off that henley. Granted no one but you and like, George Clooney can, but still. Ugh,” she finished, rolling her eyes while pulling out a purple dress.

“I think you should go with the black jumpsuit tonight. Seems more New York House Party Chic.” 

“Julia recommend the purple dress.”

“Julia is excited about a high school vomit-inducing Jungle Juice.”

Margo nodded and shoved the purple dress back in the bag. 

“Anyway, yes, he and his clothes were very nerdy, Bambi. But you and I will look stunning, per usual. ’m going to get in the shower. It’s hair-washing day so you know how long this process takes,” he got up and walked towards her to kiss her on the top of the head and then walk off towards the bathroom. 

“He washed his hair two days ago,” he heard her mutter from behind him. A second later he heard an over-dramatic gasp. He rolled his eyes and turned around to see Margo covering her mouth with one hand and used the other to point in Eliot’s face. 

“You don't wash your hair earlier than needed unless you are trying to bone. You have a crush on the Muggle!” she shouted.

“Of course I do. You have eyes, you’ve seen his face. He’s cute. A lot of boys are cute, Bambi. Nothing is going to happen with him.”

Margo narrowed her eyes. 

“He’s not that cute,” she said through her teeth. 

“Bambi, please have a little more faith in me. I don’t sleep with  _ every _ boy that I think is cute.”

Margo narrowed her eyes even more while pursing her lips. 

“OK, so maybe I do make it a habit to indulge myself a little. But please, Bambi. I’m not going to indulge in a Muggle. I can’t even incorporate magic into sex and you know that constitutes 50% of all Eliot Waugh sexual encounters. I would have no fun. He is pretty to look at but that’s not what we’re here for. Normal college kid night for Daddy and Bambi, yeah?” he asked, cupping her chin with his pointer finger and thumb. 

Margo held his gaze for a moment longer before sighing and getting on her tip-toes to give him a kiss on the lips. 

“Normal college kid night for Bambi and Daddy,” she agreed. 

“Now, let’s play good graduate students, shall we? I assume that in anticipation for a night of debauchery in their boring, monotonous, non-magical lives, one would primp and preen and look their absolute best yes? Since there is nothing else to live for in their sad, sad world other than one night a week to let their proverbial hair down and luxuriate in a simplistic house shin-dig with their non-magical brethren?”

“This is going to be the saddest party ever,” she sighed. “What a waste of a perfectly good jumpsuit.”

“At least you’ll be the hottest girl in the state,” he nuzzled her nose.

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Eliot finished mixing the Old Fashioned for him and Julia. They were waiting for Margo to finish her hair so they could head out. 

“Thank you again for letting us tag along, Julia. It does mean a lot to the both of us, even if we act… indifferent about it. We appreciate your friendship,” he said as he handed her a glass. 

“Are you getting mushy on me Eliot?” she asked with an incredulous look. 

“Even I can be a sentimentalist at times,” he offered a smile while raising his glass to her. 

“To friendship,” she said while clinking his glass. 

“Friendship,” he agreed, taking a drink. 

“I don’t know how you make such a simple drink so amazing, Eliot.”

“Years of trial and error and practice. So many years.”

“You’re an artist,” she said appreciatively, taking another sip.

“So you can probably imagine how excited I am about trying this famed Jungle Juice.”

Julia let out a deep laugh and nudged Eliot's shoulder with her own. They drank in comfortable silence for a few moments. 

“So your friend Quentin, what’s his deal?”

“Deal?”

“I pride myself on being able to read a room within an inch of its life, but I’ll be damned if I could tell what team he was batting for,” Eliot shrugged nonchalantly. 

“Oh! Quentin is bi,” she replied easily. “Single, chronically so. He is such an amazing guy, but he’s too shy to put himself out there. It’s a shame. I really hope he finds someone nice soon. He really deserves it,” she finished with a sign and tipped back the rest of her drink. Then she narrowed her eyes. 

“Wait, why do you want to know his deal?”

Eliot rolled his eyes dramatically and put his glass down. 

“I really wish you and Margo would stop treating me like some dastardly villain plotting to tie some poor maiden to the train tracks every time I talk about someone with a penis. I am not trying to steal your friend’s virtue. I am simply an enthusiast of knowledge. I like knowing what’s going on. That’s all. I thought you of all people would appreciate that, Knowledge Girl.”

Julia softened. 

“I’m sorry, I know I’m getting ahead of myself. I just… god Eliot, I love him so much, and I'm just constantly stressed about him. It’s been…. learning that I’m a Magician has been the most amazing and most heartbreaking thing that has ever happened to me, because of Quentin,” she sighed. 

Eliot didn't interrupt, waited patiently for her to continue. 

“This was our dream as little kids. We both loved magic so much. We would read the  _ Fillory _ books for hours, play as Martin and Jane Chatwin, lose ourselves in these crazy fantasies. And Quentin really… he really hung onto magic. It got him through so much. If he knew… God El, if he knew magic was real, and that he can’t do it… and I can. It would literally kill him, Eliot. I just- I feel like I’m constantly walking a tightrope, and I don’t know if staying in touch with him is the wrong or right decision.”

  
Eliot put an arm around her shoulder as he saw her eyes start to well up. 

“Hey,” he whispered, “none of that. Your makeup looks too beautiful for tears.” He reached behind her to grab a napkin and brought it to her face. She sniffed as he gently soaked up a tear just about to fall over her lid. 

“So that’s why you work so hard at staying in touch - guilt?” he asked, laying his cheek on the top of her head. He lightly stroked her back. 

“It should be him, Eliot. It really should be. He... he deserves magic. I just feel like I haven’t done anything to earn this power. It’s not fair,” she sniffed again. 

“Hey, hey,” he started, repositioning to stand in front of her. His hands landed softly on her shoulders. “Don’t you dare say that. It’s ok to be sad for your friend, but it is not ok for you to feel like you shouldn’t have magic. You ARE a Magician and you deserve this just as much as anyone else. I’m sure Quentin is wonderful, but you are a Magician. You can’t compromise your powers because you feel bad for him. That won’t get you anywhere and it certainly won’t get him anywhere. Harness your shit  _ for _ him, to honor him, but don’t for a second think that you shouldn’t be where you are. OK, Julia?”

Julia stared into his eyes, sniffed once more, and then nodded. He kissed her forehead. 

“The world is shit and nothing makes sense. But bask in the glory when it throws you a bone every once in a while. There is something amazing in store for Quentin in the future, I’m sure. But magic is for you. You earned it because you have it. Just continue to be his friend. That’s what he wants and what you can give him,” Eliot finished with a soft hug as not to mess up her hair or makeup. 

“I’m really sorry to unload on you, I’ve just kind of been holding that in for a while,” she gave him a weak smile. 

“Well now you know you have friends that get it, and you can come talk when you need it.”

“I really… I really appreciate this, Eliot. You really gave me something to think about. I needed another perspective on all this.”

“Well, like I said, even I can be a sentimentalist at times. Just don’t go running to tell too many people, I have a reputation to hold, you know,” he winked. 

Julia smiled again. “How’s the makeup?” she asked. 

“Still perfect,” he kissed the tip of her nose. 

Just then Margo strutted out. 

“Alright bitches, let’s go party with some Muggles!”

Julia sighed. “So you went with the exact opposite of what I suggested?” she motioned to her outfit.

Eliot pulled Julia into his side.

“We don’t share the same perspective on  _ everything _ ,” he smiled, staring at Margo as she twirled to showcase her outfit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 2 should be posted in just a few days, it's already mostly written.
> 
> Any and all feedback welcome!!! Would love any pointers, suggestions, or compliments :-)
> 
> Also can we all take a moment to acknowledge how much not-a-dick Julia is about magic-less Q than Q was about magic-less Julia? Love the boy but he was kind of a douche about this in the show. Super douche.


	3. Chapter 2 - Part 1: The Party Begins

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> i won't say "The next chapter will be posted soon" again as I am a liar.

Eliot placed the cup down on the counter. 

“It actually burns going down my throat. That can’t be healthy. It tastes like acid and oranges.”

A Miley Cyrus song that Eliot didn’t recognize played in the background, but not loud enough for him to have to raise his voice too much. Margo grinned before taking another sip. 

“This is the taste of getting away from the monotony of Brakebills and freaking Todd for a night. _ L’chaim _, puppy,” Margo nudged Eliot, and raised her Solo cup in front of him. He laughed and half-heartedly tapped his cup to hers before taking a small gulp. Margo smiled up at him, leaning against the kitchen counter to stare out to party in front of them. 

James and Quentin’s Brooklyn apartment was large. Not as large as Julia’s loft, but still a good size and comfortably fit the 30 or so party goers milling about the open area. Both sofas were covered in people talking over their own red Solo cups, the nook off of the living room had been converted into a beer pong tournament area, and the coffee table had been pushed to the side of the room to allow for a small makeshift dance floor, though most everyone there was standing around holding their drinks and simply swaying to the beat of whatever was playing while laughing and talking. Julia was on the far side of the room with Quentin and three other people Eliot hadn’t met yet. The guy was telling an animated story while Julia threw her head back in laughter and Quentin chuckled while glancing around the room. Quentin was wearing another henley, similar to the one from this morning but black. However now his hair was up in a messy bun, and Eliot couldn’t help but notice how gorgeous his face looked with his hair gathered away from it... 

No matter, there were quite a few guys here tonight that were just as attractive and whose companionship was less likely to end in his dick being ceremoniously separated from his body by either Julia or Margo. 

“I can’t help but notice that we might be overdressed for the occasion,” Eliot mentioned while wrinkling his nose after another sip of his drink. 

Margo tossed her hair. “We’re never overdressed.”

The general attire was jeans and t-shirts or sweaters, with varying degrees of embellishment. Margo looked like she just stepped out of an episode of _ Sex and the City _ and Eliot donned his traditional vest-tie-slacks look. 

Just then James waltzed into the kitchen. They had all been introduced earlier, and Eliot liked him in a he-didn’t-immediately-offend-his-spirit way. He opened the fridge and took out a tray. 

“Jello shots, fresh out the fridge. You guys want first dibs?”

Opinions can change. 

Eliot was about to decline when Margo shouted, “Hell yeah! We’ll take two!”

She grabbed four of the small plastic cups off the tray and James gave her an approving high-five before walking out towards the living room.

“Honestly, Bambi?”

“Shut up, shots up,” she replied, shoving a cup in his hands. He smiled, entertaining her by cheersing and taking one of the Jell-O shots with her, then another. 

“OK, I think it’s time we go be social. Mama’s trying to get hers tonight. What lucky person do you think deserves one night in Heaven followed by a lifetime of memories of the enigma from Connecticut that they’ll never see again?” Margo cocked her head while looking over the party. 

“You’ve been staring at the red-head talking to Julia for a while,” Eliot shrugged. She grinned up at him. 

“So I have. Alright, El, let’s go mingle,” she pulled on his hand and he followed her through the crowd. 

“And why do I have to be a part of this?” he asked. Margo just rolled her eyes as they continued through the scattered party-goers. 

They finally reached the group, and Julia beamed at them. Her face was slightly flush, definitely due to the alcohol. She gave a small jump and raised her hands in the air, cutting of whatever story the red-head had been telling. “Margo! Eliot! Hey guys, this is Margo and Eliot. They’re my friends from my new school. This is Ethan and Chelsey and Gina, and you know Quentin. They are friends from my old schools. Look at all my friends from all my schools here!” She grinned, throwing her arms around Eliot.

“Having a good time, birthday girl?” Eliot asked, detaching Julia from his neck. 

“The best! It’s my BIRTHDAY!” she shouted. 

“Julia doesn't often get drunk but when she does it’s… an event,” Quentin said sheepishly from his place next to Eliot while Margo and Chelsey or Gina helped Julia stand straight. 

“And what a horrid friend you are for letting this happen so quickly,” Eliot said with a laugh as he took a small sip of his drink. 

“I take no responsibility for that. No one can stop Julia when she starts pounding back Jame’s Jungle Juice,” he shook his head as Julia started hoping and pulling Margo and Ethan over to the little dance area. 

“It is quite… potent,” Eliot agreed. They stood in silence for a moment while watching Julia do the Electric Slide to the Cardi B song playing over the speakers.

“I’ve never… seen her like this,” Eliot said in confused amusement. Quentin laughed at his side. 

“Yeah, Julia takes a while to completely let herself go around people she isn’t super close with. You have this to look forward to by the end of your time at Yale.” Eliot looked down and took in Quentin staring so fondly at her. 

“You really love her, don’t you?” Eliot asked softly. 

Quentin smiled as he watched James and Margo try to stop her from climbing onto the coffee table. “She’s my best friend. She’s put up with… so much of my bullshit. Never complained, never thought I was too much work, never made me feel… like I should feel bad. She’s awesome.”

Just then Julia won her battle and stood on the top of the coffee table to continue her Electric Slide dance. Quentin and Eliot cheered for her and she preened. 

Margo returned to the Eliot and Quentin with three shot glasses in hand. 

“We have a lot of work to do to catch up to her level, bitches.”

————————————————————————————————

An hour passed and the party was in full swing. Eliot found himself starting to actually like the punch that James had made (though he would never admit it and would _ never _ refer to it a Jungle Juice) and he and Margo were having a good time mingling with Julia’s friends. People were really starting to dance. Eliot found himself enjoying the atmosphere. He wasn’t playing host so he could just sit back and enjoy. People weren’t trying to outdo each other with magic tricks, everyone was just focused on the music and the drinks and enjoying the moment. He had to admit that it was kind of… nice. Lame, sure. But nice. 

Eliot had lost Quentin a while ago, but was currently dancing with a tall blonde with crystal blue eyes, so all was not lost. The blonde - Eliot was sure that he told him his name earlier but for the life of him he couldn’t remember - snaked his hands up from Eliot’s hips to waist and moved to kiss his neck. 

This was absolutely lovely. God bless New York City. 

The blonde’s lips met his ear. “Do you mind if I take a SnapChat of us?” he asked. Eliot shrugged.

“Uhh, sure?” Eliot thought it was a little weird, but the quicker this part was over the quicker they could get back to the lips on neck that Eliot enjoyed. 

“This is going to make my boyfriend so jealous,” the blonde said, pulling his phone out of his back pocket.

Eliot sighed. “And that’s my cue to exit,” he said, pulling away from the blonde. 

“Hey what, we were having a good time!”

“Your use of the past tense is supremely apt,” Eliot said as he stepped away. He scanned the living room to find a friend to laugh about the loser he was just about to make out with when he found two very familiar heads. 

Together. 

Making out. 

He rolled his eyes and laughed. Of course Julia and Margo were making out in the middle of the living room. Then he scoffed and said to no one in particular, “She wasn’t starting at the red head talking to Julia!”

Eliot scanned the room for anyone else that he might want to talk to, but everyone he had mingled with earlier was either in the midst of a conversation or dancing and he just wasn’t feeling it at the moment. Maybe… based on stories he had heard from Julia, there was about a 95% chance that he couldn't find Quentin because he was hiding in his room. He glanced back at the two girls laughing and kissing against a bookcase. Well they were obviously too busy to mind if he made a new friend. 

A few minutes and two unresponsive doors later, Eliot lightly rapped his fingers against a door and heard a quiet, “Come in!”. He smiled as he pushed the door open, then leaned against the frame. He saw Quentin, laying in bed with his neck at an uncomfortable looking angle with a book propped up on his chest. 

“So, I was supposed to be having a bitchin’ time at this NYU party and my best friend abandoned me to make out with your best friend, and the only other person I know here is reading in his room. I could go join the girls but I’m not sure that Julia is a sharer,” Eliot grinned as Quentin’s eyebrows soared.

“And anyway, in an effort to be more social, I think it’s best if I leave Julia and Margo to their own devices and try to enjoy the party. It would be nice to have a friendly face there though. I feel a bit more out of my element than I expected here,” Eliot admitted, looking up at Quentin through his eyelashes. 

Quentin studied Eliot’s form in the doorway as he rested the book on his stomach. 

“I feel out of my element a lot,” Quentin replied. 

Eliot smiled and cautiously approached the bed, “Then there's a pair of us. Don't tell! They'd advertise—you know.”

Eliot reached the bed and looked at Quentin, silently asking for permission. Quentin nodded shortly, and Eliot sat gingerly on the edge. 

“How dreary—to be—Somebody. How public—like a Frog—” Quentin blushed. 

Eliot offered an encouraging smile. 

“To tell one's name—the livelong June—To an admiring Bog.” Eliot finished softly. 

Quentin pushed himself up, back straight against his headboard and legs crossed. 

“I didn’t take you for a Dickinson guy.”

Eliot put a hand on his chest in mock-horror. 

“I am a queer boy that grew up on a farm in Indiana. Dickinson and I go way back.”

“_ You _ grew up on a farm?” Quentin snorted.

Eliot froze. “I uhh… I don’t really like to talk about it.”

What the hell was wrong with him? The only other person that knew this was Margo and that was only because they were partnered in the Trials. 

“Oh, I.. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to laugh,” Quentin immediately broke out in a full blush, head ducking down and hair curtaining around his face. Eliot regretted throwing the wall up. He regretted anything he had ever, will ever, and could ever do to make Quentin feel shame. 

“Hey, no, it’s not your fault. I’ve uh – I’ve just had a few cocktails and now I’m exposing all my dirty laundry. But no use in bringing up the not-so-pleasant memories of Christmases past,” he shrugged. 

Quentin grinned, thankful for the lightened mood, “And Dickens, too.”

“What can I say, I love the Dick’s,” she shot Quentin a huge grin over his shoulder and he watched Quentin’s face explode into red patches again. This was a blush he was fine with causing. 

“Yeah, um, me too - yeah they’re great. The writers! They’re great writers. I like their stuff. We are actually just about to start reading –” 

Eliot cut him off with a deep laugh, a true laugh from his belly. 

“Come on, wanna head back into the party with me? We can talk about whatever Dick’s you want out there. I think you need a few more drinks to get on my level.”

Quentin hesitated, looking down at the book on his stomach. 

“I uh… I guess I…”

“Hey, it’s ok if you don’t want to. Just figured I’d throw the offer out.”

Quentin sighed. 

“Sorry. I get a little overwhelmed in crowds and need a break sometimes. But I think I’m ready to go back out.”

Eliot smiled. “Great! And if you decide that you want to come back here again, no worries. I’ll be fine on my own. Just come out as long as you're comfortable.”

Quentin smiled and put the book down on the bed. 

—————————————————————————-

Eliot and Quentin were glued to each other’s sides for the rest of the night. Eliot watched in amusement as Quentin got into a debate with a friend about the, in Quentin’s opinion, unforgivable plot holes in_ Breaking Bad _ and _ Game of Thrones _. They joined in screeching the Happy Birthday song as James brought a cake (“much too small for everyone at the party, stupid Muggle” Eliot observed) to Julia in mid-make out with Margo on the sofa. He helped tip back a shot glass of whiskey that Quentin was unconvincingly protesting taking. They danced with the girls in the middle of the living room. Eliot noticed the tall blonde from earlier giving him sad eyes and he could see the wheels turning about trying to approach Eliot. 

“Come make a drink with me in the kitchen,” Eliot said, tugging Quentin with him. Avoidance was one of Eliot’s strong suits. 

They reached the kitchen and Eliot quickly crafted two quick spritzers, cheersing Quentin. Eliot leaned against the counter and started to explain to Quentin the merits of crafting a cocktail rather than just pouring a “Jungle Juice” concoction into a large bowl. James ran into the kitchen mid-conversation. 

“Hey Q! Hey Eliot. I hope you are having a good time at our humble rager,” he grinned. Eliot wanted to dislike him on principle, but James was so genuinely indifferent to anyone’s opinion while simultaneously determined to play the part of a good host that Eliot felt a bit of a kindred spirit connection. Eliot raised his Solo cup and gave a nod. 

“It everything I hoped and more, sir.”

“Everyone does seem to be having a good time, James,” Quentin nodded encouragingly. He stepped closer to Eliot as James squeezed behind him to get to the fridge. Eliot instinctively put his hand on Quentin’s waist in mock effort to create more room for James. 

“You are still out and about my man, so I know it must be a good one,” James said, clapping Quentin on the shoulder while sneaking by. James retrieved two bottles of tequila from the freezer and squeezed by again, pushing Eliot and Quentin closer together. 

“Sorry, sorry guys. I’m pouring more shots out here if you want to come grab some!” he called over his shoulder while walking out of the room.

Quentin hadn’t stepped back and Eliot hadn’t removed his hand.

Quentin was close enough that Eliot could smell the liquor on his breath. He saw Quentin’s eyes flicker to his lips. Eliot licked them instinctively. 

“Hey,” Quentin breathed, eyes roaming back up to meet Eliot’s.

“Hey yourself,” Eliot responded, thumb slowly stroking Quentin’s waist. He would wait. He would let this beautiful boy decide what he wanted to do. He would wait forever, right here in this Muggle kitchen, if he had to. 

Quentin took in a sharp breath. “Um..” he started.

The rest of the thought was lost as he surged up to kiss Eliot. 

Eliot was overcome with feelings of surprise and relief and _ Thank Christ _. His body barely had time to respond to the action before Quentin was pulling away, offering a look that seemed much too nervous for Eliot’s liking. Eliot gave him what he thought was an encouraging smirk before placing their cups on the counter and raising a hand to Quentin’s cheek and slowly pulling him back in for another kiss. He felt Quentin relax into it, hands finding Eliot’s hips. Then it was Quentin’s tongue that gently sought entry to Eliot’s mouth, and honestly who was he to deny him?

Quentin’s hands were hesitant but strong. They gripped Eliot’s hips then loop into his belt loops, pulling Eliot closer. Eliot’s hand found purchase on the back of Quentin’s neck and Eliot felt the gentle vibration of a moan as he gentle scruffed his neck.

“Are you ready to go back to your room, yet?” Eliot asked into Quentin’s mouth before kissing him again. 

Quentin opened his eyes to meet Eliot’s. Eliot though Quentin was going to say no before he felt Quentin’s hands slide up his waist to his chest, then grabbed his collar to pull him down to him again. 

He would take that as a yes. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I would really really love to hear your thoughts and feelings so far!! Comments make me so happy! Would love to chat with you :-)


	4. Chapter 2 - Part 2: The Party Ends/The Afterparty

Margo and Julia were going to be  **pissed** . 

But as Quentin’s hand slipped under his untucked shirt to stroke his stomach, Eliot couldn’t find it in him to care. 

He tucked his forehead into the crook of Quentin’s neck, closing his eyes and taking a few breaths to ground himself. Eliot had hooked up with plenty of beautiful guys before. He did not understand why this one seemed to be riling him up more than normal. He focused on Quentin’s hand sliding up from his stomach to his chest - when did his shirt become unbuttoned? - and got his head back in the game. 

“You’re so fucking pretty, Quentin. I want to take care of you tonight. I’m going to make you feel so good Q,” Eliot breathed into Quentin’s neck and pulled Quentin’s hips up to meet his. Quentin whimpered in response and Eliot licked and sucked at the crook of his neck. Quentin’s hands tentatively tangled into Eliot’s curls. 

Eliot moved his mouth to hover over Quentin’s. “You can pull, baby,” he whispered before closing the distance and kissing Quentin deeply. If his mouth wasn’t otherwise occupied he would have smiled at the hands gently tugging at his hair. He wanted Quentin to pull harder but he seemed unsure – they could cross that bridge later. 

Eliot rolled his crotch against the thigh he was straddling and moaned into Quentin’s mouth. He ran his hand down Quentin’s chest and stomach and stopped to caress his clothed crotch, feeling the beginning of hardness through the layers. 

Eliot kissed along his jaw. “What do you want, Quentin? Do you want my mouth on you? Do you want to fuck into my hand? How do you want it baby?”

He waited patiently for the response while continuing to rub Quentin’s dick through his pants. 

“I umm… mmmm…. just kiss me, for right now,” Quentin whispered. 

Eliot smiled, lazily drawing his hand from Quentin’s dick, fingers trailing up his body until they reached his chin. 

“Yes sir,” he whispered into Quentin’s mouth. 

They laid there kissing for a few more minutes until Eliot’s hand found itself traveling south again. His lips followed suit, kissing down Qunetin’s neck to his chest. 

“I uh… I…”

Eliot grinned, savoring the feeling of making this beautiful boy stutter. 

“Yeah baby? What do you want?” 

“I uh… I’m sorry. I uh… I want to stop,” Quentin stuttered out. Eliot froze in surprise then immediately, disappointedly, lifted his hands from Quentin’s body and hoisted himself back to sit on his calves. He ran his hands through his hair as Quentin shifted to sit up.

“I’m um, I’m really sorry,” Quentin began. 

“Hey hey, no need to be sorry. Don’t apologize. Are you ok? Do you want me to go?” Eliot asked.

“No! I don’t want you to go, I just… um… I drank a lot. I know I want to do this I just… I don’t want to… drunk,” he finished. 

Eliot nodded and cautiously reached out to tuck Quentin’s hair behind his ears to stop him from hiding. 

“That is absolutely OK, Q. And very valid. We’ll stop.”

Eliot gave an encouraging smile to Quentin who finally met his eyes. He was afraid his smile seemed kind of crazed – he was trying to look as supportive and understanding as he felt, but his cock was throbbing and he knew that had to also be playing on his features. He tried to imagine something, anything, to dial back the pangs desire: kittens with yarn, Todd throwing a party, antelope being torn apart by lions, Todd throwing a party. It helped a little. 

Quentin offered a small smile. “Thanks. I’m sorry.”

“Seriously Quentin, there is nothing to be sorry about. No apologizing. Thank you for being honest with me. It’s getting late anyway, I should really try to find Margo and Julia and make sure they are herded back to Julia’s apartment tonight,” Eliot smiled. 

Quentin looked like he wanted to say something but stopped himself. 

Eliot, never wanting to be left in the dark, encouraged him. “What’s going on up there, Q?” he asked, playing tugging at a strand of hair. 

“Well I was just wondering… you’ll probably think I’m really weird for asking so like seriously it’s ok if you don’t want to. It might be weird. But I was just wondering… I do really like you, and like I’d like to spend more time with you tonight and get to know you more. And like Julia and Margo looked like they will probably be like… busy tonight anyway. I was wondering if umm, like maybe do you want to stay here tonight, with me? We could like, watch Netflix and like talk or something? But I get if you’re like, ‘no way!’ it’s really OK. It was just a thought, you don’t have to.”

Eliot wasn’t sure if Quentin took a breath during that entire speech. He smiled. 

“I don’t think it’s weird and I would like that, as long as you’re sure,” he replied dipping his head to meet Quentin’s eye. Quentin stared back and nodded. 

“Ok. Well then in that case I might need to borrow some clothes. I know I look fantastic but slacks and a vest isn’t the most comfortable sleeping option,” Eliot said, figuring that sleeping in his underwear wasn’t the best option after tonight’s events. 

“Yeah, I have some things you can use for sure. Umm… I’m really happy you want to stay. I really… I really like you,” Eliot didn’t have a chance to respond before Quentin jumped out of bed to head to the small dresser.

“So um,” he dropped to his knees to hunt through the bottom drawer, “I think all of my sweats will be too short for you, but I have these that will at least be comfortable.”

Quentin pulled out an oversized pair of basketball shorts and tossed them to Eliot. He raised an eyebrow as he caught them. “Shoot hoops much?” He asked with a smirk.

“No they’re um… they’re my exes, from forever ago but I stole them from him because he was an asshole and these are really comfortable,” Quentin finished, his whole face red, pretending to be nonchalant while rummaging through the middle drawer.

“Yeah that’s a not-right-now topic,” he chuckled. 

Quentin smiled thankfully as he tossed Eliot a baggy white t-shirt. 

“So if you don’t mind I’m going to run to your restroom to uh, shower really quickly. I just need to rinse off before bed,” Eliot said, trying to sound as casual as possible while also being hyper aware that both of them were cognizant of the tenting in his trousers.

“Yeah, of course. I’ll uh, probably take a quick one after you. I’ll show you to the bathroom,” Quentin nodded walking towards the bedroom door, and they shared a pointed look and shy snicker. Quentin led Eliot down the short hall. Most of the party goers had cleared out already, but they heard Julia whooping from the other room. 

“Beer pong is usually how they end their nights,” Quentin shrugged as they reached the bathroom door. 

Quentin showed Eliot where to grab a clean towel and what products in the bathroom were his that he was welcome to use. He even found an unopened toothbrush under the sink for him. Quentin retreated back, either to his room or the party, and Eliot started the water. Upon entering the shower he began to jerk off, picturing the beautiful boy in the other room - imagining him on his knees and taking Eliot’s cock all the way to his throat. It didn’t take Eliot long to come, muffling his groans into his forearm braced against the wall. He rinsed off again, trying his best to keep his hair out of the water but knowing it was honestly a lost cause already. After brushing his teeth and washing his face in the shower he then turned the tap to cold and let the shock settle his body. After a few seconds he turned the water off, toweled off and put on the… ensemble that Quentin has created for him. He was extremely grateful that the tiny bathroom did not have a full length mirror. 

Eliot strolled out of the bathroom and into the living room. Apparently Quentin had gone back to his room – Julia, Margo, James and James’ girlfriend Claire were playing beer pong as predicted. Margo stood behind Julia, arms wrapped around her, whispering into her ear as Julia threw the ball. Julia missed the shot completely and turned to blame Margo, but ended up kissing her instead. There were a few other people talking in the living room, but the party was mostly over. Upon seeing him walk into the room, Julia and Margo both stood motionless and staring at Eliot, mouths gaping. 

“Who the fuck are you and what did you do to El’s clothes?” Margo demanded, eyes narrowing as he approached. Eliot knew she meant to be serious but her words were slurred and he definitely caught her ever so slightly wobbling before tightening her grip on Julia. 

“Long story. So listen, I’m going to crash here tonight and I want to make sure you two get home safely. Do you want me to call you a Lyft or something if you’re getting ready to go?”

“Not ready yet!” Julia pouted. Claire laughed from the other side of the table. 

“Don’t worry about these two. I’m going back to Jersey City tonight, I can drop them off on my way. Unlike these little drunkards I’ve been sticking with water this evening. I have work in the morning,” Claire told Eliot. 

“Claire is too pure to drink the wretched alcohol!” James mocked. Claire rolled her eyes. 

“Pretty sure it’s frowned upon for an ER nurse to show up to work hungover, especially when she’s still in her probation period,” she said with a smile, kissing James’ cheek. 

“I thank you for your service,” Eliot said bowing. Claire giggled and curtseyed. 

“You… just need to find a cooler hospital to work at,” he replied, wagging his finger in the air and slurring as much as Margo. Claire rolled her eyes again and made a perfect shot into the last Solo cup in front of Julia and Margo. Julia and Margo shrieked as James lifted Claire up. 

“She’s the king of the world!” James yelled, hoisting her up. 

Eliot turned to walk away, seemingly forgotten by the group. He headed to the kitchen to grab two glasses of water to bring back to Quentin’s room. As he returned the Brita filter to the fridge he felt a presence behind him and didn’t need to turn around to see who it was. 

“Hello Bambi,” he sighed.

“This is a bad idea, El.”

He turned to face her and she was standing in the entrance of the kitchen, arms crossed over her chest, chin tilted slightly down. She looked ready to attack. 

Eliot sighed and ran his hands through his expanding hair. Fucking shower steam. 

“Bambi, I can promise you whatever you think is going to happen tonight is not going to happen. It almost happened, but it didn’t happen. This outfit is the result of it very seriously not happening.”

“He’s a Muggle, Eliot,” Margo whispered, speaking slowly as not to slur. “You know this is going to end badly for both of you. And probably fuck up our friendship with Julia.”

“Margo,” Eliot sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose and turning to her. He could go on about how Margo trying to get into Julia’s pants could  _ also _ fuck up their friendship with Julia, but he knew she wasn’t about to entertain the implications of her own actions. “Nothing is going to happen. He is cute. We almost fucked. He stopped it. I’m sobering up. He’s embarrassed. My hair is puffy. He asked me to stay the night with him so you and Julia can fuck all over her apartment. I promise nothing is happening. I’m not fucking the Muggle.”

Margo stood still, arms still crossed, and raised an eyebrow. 

“Promise?”

“Look at what the fuck I’m wearing. Once he sees me in this, that ship has sailed,” Eliot grinned, leaning against the counter. Margo rolled her eyes and smirked. 

“I’m not going to fuck Julia, by the way. She just gets handsy when she drinks, apparently.” Margo uncrossed her arms and rested her hands on her hips. 

“Oh yeah, OK,” Eliot grinned, turning to grab the glasses he sat on the counter. 

“We’re not!” She snapped, stomping her foot lightly. 

“OK Bambi,” he smiled, walking towards her to leave the kitchen.

“I mean it El,” she whined as he kissed her forehead. 

“OK Bambi, I know. Have a good night. Take it easy on her,” He called over his shoulder and heard Margo groan in response. 

———————————————————

Eliot slowly opened the door to Quentin’s room with his hip and found Quentin laying on the bed in the same position as earlier that night, book resting on his chest and chin tucked down.

“Brought you some water, Party Animal.” Eliot placed one of the glasses down on the table next to Quentin. He smiled up at him. 

“That Claire girl is going to take Julia and Margo home soon for FuckFest 2019,” Eliot laughed, and Quentin grabbed his water glass and laughed too. 

“Yale really brought out her crazy side. I could never have imagined her hooking up with a girl before,” Quentin admitted, taking a sip of water. 

“Eh, it was bound to happen, Yale or not. Sexuality is so fluid, and everyone figures their shit out at different times,” Eliot shrugged. Quentin looked down thoughtfully at his glass. 

“True. It’s kind of shitty for me to say that. I figured out I was bi in undergrad, so it’s not like I’m the professor of human sexuality.”

Eliot shrugged again. “No one is really. And it’s always shocking when someone who seems to fall so low on the Kinsey scale throws out a surprise. Margo does have that effect on people, though,” Eliot grinned thinking of his deviant-and-proud best friend. 

“I can imagine. She is like, intimidatingly gorgeous,” Quentin replied without thinking, then Eliot saw his eyes bulge in realization that he said it out loud. Eliot just laughed as he settled against the headboard. 

“That she is. Don’t let her hear you say that though. She already knows it and uses it to her advantage.”

Quentin smiled and downed the rest of his water.    
  
“I’m uh, going to jump in the shower, be back in a few minutes.” He hesitated for a moment, then quickly leaned over to kiss Eliot quickly on the lips. He pulled away just enough so that Eliot could brush their noses together. 

“Hurry back to me,” he smiled. 

Quentin flushed and jumped out of bed. When he got to the door frame he turned back around to smile at Eliot, then continued out the door. 

As soon as Quentin was out of sight Eliot groaned, throwing a pillow over his face and sliding down until he was flat against the bed. 

“Dangerous Muggle,” he whined into the pillow. 

——————————————

Quentin walked back in the room, long hair toweled-off but still wet, grey sweatpants hanging off his narrow hips and thin black t-shirt showing off his surprisingly defined arms. Eliot swallowed quickly, taking him in. Quentin went to the small desk by the window to grab his laptop and then padded over to the bed. 

“Do you wanna watch anything specific? I have Netflix, Hulu, and uh Amazon,” Quenting listed while waking the laptop up. 

Eliot had no idea what shows were on which platforms, nor what shows were relevant right now. He hadn’t watched TV in about two years. He racked his brain. 

“Uh, how about  _ Friends _ ? I’ve been a little busy with school to catch up on anything recent.” 

Quentin smiled. 

“Perfect. That’s my guilty pleasure show. It’s so good,” he smiled. Eliot settled against the headboard while Quentin queued up the show. Once he started it up he saw Quentin falter, not sure what to do with the computer or his body. 

Eliot ached to magic the screen to project onto the ceiling so they could lay in bed together, Quentin’s head on Eliot’s chest, to stare up at the show on the ceiling. He could feel his fingers instinctively flex to tut. Instead he grabbed the pillow from behind him and used it to prop the laptop on the foot of the bed so he and Quentin could sit next to each other and watch the episode. Quentin smiled again and settled next to Eliot. 

They started by focusing on the show, but soon found themselves chatting over it. Quentin was rambling about one of his professors, then about life living in the city, and how hard it had been on him since Julia had left. Eliot talked (as honestly as possible) about life on campus, his undergrad years in Philadelphia, Todd, and some of his non-school related interests. They learned that they both attended protests in different cities after the 2016 elections and Eliot was impressed to learn that Quentin had even gotten involved in local politics with various campus groups. They both had three overlapping cities in their list of top five international places they wanted to travel to (London, Paris, and Amsterdam). They chatted about having female best friends and the pros and cons that came with that. They briefly touched on their serious exes and how those relationships ended (one each). Quentin talked briefly on his issues with anxiety and depression, and implied without spelling out that he had been hospitalized in the past. Eliot admitted that he hadn’t spoken to his parents in four years because they were genuinely horrible people that he didn’t care to know. 

Eliot wasn’t sure how long the screen in front of them had read ”Are you still watching  ** _Friends_ ** ?” but he knew it had to be at least an hour. His eyes felt heavy as he quickly stole a glance at the clock on the table next to the bed. He chuckled and stretched. 

“It’s 3am, Q.”

“Wow that’s later than I thought. I knew I was exhausted for a reason….. Worth it, though. ” he said with a shy look. 

“Absolutely. I had a really, really great night. But I do think we should get some sleep. I can’t go to brunch in the city looking ragged.”

“I uh - don’t think that’s possible,” Quentin replied while turning the computer off. He smiled in spite of himself as Quentin went to put the laptop back on his desk. Eliot has already shimmied under the covers by the time Quentin reached the bed. 

“I’m a cuddler, so let me know now if that’s a problem.” Eliot offered. 

Quentin smiled, sliding under the covers. “Doesn’t bother me at all,” he replied. 

Eliot was laying on his side facing Quentin. Quentin got into bed with his back to Eliot, and schooched back a little towards him. Eliot snaked an arm around him, inviting him to come closer, which Quentin happily obliged. 

Eliot could have died a happy man when he felt Quentin’s palm hover over the hand resting on Quentin’s stomach, then lay atop it and lace their fingers together. 

Eliot nuzzled his nose into the hair covering Quentin’s neck. 

“I’m really happy I met you today, Q,” he said honestly, feeling vulnerable but safe. It was a strange feeling. He could have cried as he felt the most gentle squeeze of their entwined fingers. 

“Me too, Eliot. Seriously.” 

He didn’t care how pissed Margo and Julia would be tomorrow. He softly kissed the back of Quentin’s neck while whispering  _ goodnight _ and knowing full well that this wouldn’t be the last they saw each other. 

———————————————

Eliot woke up with a slight headache and extreme confusion. He was in a bed with much rougher sheets than his own, in a room much smaller and darker than his own. The evenings events began coming into focus And Elliot turned to face Quentin….’s side of the bed, which was missing one Quentin. 

Eliot fell back in the pillows, a smile spreading across his face just thinking about Quentin. He knew already that this kind, nerdy, gorgeous boy had a hold on him that he couldn’t explain. He also knew, in reality, that Julia and Margo were right and that nothing should happen between the two of them. Trying to have a real relationship with him and having to hide the fact that he is a Magician was impossible and…

Ok, he was getting ahead of himself. No reason to think 20 steps ahead. Just enjoy the moment. Enjoy the fact that this wonderfully sweet and handsome guy just  _ likes _ you.

He played back the night in his head and was proud to say he remembered most of it. He had drank a fair amount over the course of the evening and while he knew he could hold his liquor, he was still impressed that there were very few fuzzy spots over the course of the night. Was this adulting?

Eliot heard muffled conversation through the door and recognized Quentin and James voices, though he couldn’t make out what they were saying. He heard them both laugh, then the door slowly cracking open. 

Eliot turned to face the door, watching Quentin softly close it behind him. Quentin smiled when he saw Eliot staring at him. 

“Good morning! Sorry, I thought I’d be back before you woke up.”

Quentin stumbled into the room holding two paper cups of coffee and small and full plastic bags hanging from each wrist. 

Eliot stretched and yawned, then shifted up to a sitting position. “Morning. Where were you off to so early?”

Quentin sat on the bed and held up a cup to Eliot, which was gratefully received. 

“I wanted to make coffee, but the kitchen is a disaster and I just couldn't deal with that so early in the morning. So I ran down to the bodega on the corner and then I got hungry so I just kept buying stuff,” Quentin said sheepishly, placing the two bags on the bed. 

“There’s a bunch of stuff in here, you can have whatever you’d like. I got some bottled orange juice and apple juice. And two egg sandwiches. And a plain bagel but I don't know how long it’s been sitting there. Oh an a box of Pop-Tart’s. And there’s like an orange and a banana in there too. I think I also grabbed a yogurt,” Quentin rattled off before taking a sip of his coffee. 

Eliot laughed as he peered through the bags. “This is quite a spread.”

Quentin looked down, pretending to be interested in a loose thread on his quilt. 

“I wanted to make sure there was something here you liked,” he admitted. 

_ ‘Oh little Muggle, you are dangerous,’ _ Eliot thought while shaking his head slightly while Quentin looked down. 

“Well you did a fantastic job. I really appreciate you grabbing all this, I am starving. I am going to take one of these breakfast sandwiches because carbs and grease are just what the doctor ordered. I’ll probably take a Pop-Tart too,” he smiled while reaching for his breakfast. 

They ate in comfortable silence until Quenin finally pipped up. “Oh I forgot, I grabbed this from the kitchen.”

He fished a small bottle from the pocket of his hoodie and tossed it towards Eliot.  _ Headache Relief Capsules  _ the bottle read. 

“Figured you’d need it too,” Quentin smiled before returning to his sandwich. 

Eliot assumed that these would have no effect on him compared to the hangover potion he and Margo usually made at home. However, he smiled and swallowed two down along with some apple juice as a courtesy. Luckily his head didn’t hurt that bad anyway. 

“Are you coming to brunch later?” Eliot asked after taking a bite of the sandwich. Quentin shook his head. 

“No, that’s one of the reasons I did lunch with Julia yesterday. I have a pretty big exam this week, so I really need to read and review today.”

“That’s a bummer,” he replied, giving sad eyes to Quentin. 

“I know, believe me I much rather be hanging out with you.” 

Eliot grinned before taking a bite of his sandwich. A few more moments passed before Quentin spoke up again. 

“Hey Umm… I know that we live a couple hours away from each other but like… would you maybe want to, Ummmm maybe you know? I mean it’s ok if you don’t want to be like maybe if you wanted to we could uh…”

Eliot leaned across the food spread on the bed between them to press his lips softly against Quentin’s, saving him from the precipice he hadn’t meant to throw himself off of.

“I would love to go on a date with you, Quentin,” Eliot replied to the unasked question as he returned to his sandwich. 

“Really? With the guy that couldn’t even get through asking you out?” Quentin asked incredulously, with the most relieved laugh and reddest cheeks.

Eliot let out a big sigh. 

“It is imprudent, but yes,” he responded honestly. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! Would love to hear your thoughts/theories/questions!!! :-)


	5. Chapter Three - First date

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eliot planned a first date but Quentin derails his plans in a surprising way. He's not complaining.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow. It's been a while. No real excuses. Life, work, holidays, anxiety, travel, lost my laptop charger, found my laptop charger in the same place I checked 4 times because I didn't recognize that it was my laptop charger, the usual. 
> 
> While I do not like promising things because I am bad at keeping promises, I promise that the next chapter will go up quick than this one. I have mapped out the next few chapters and have already started writing the next and I'm so excited for where this story and these stupid boys are taking me :-)
> 
> I love validation so drop any kind of comment that makes you comfortable. 
> 
> PS - I just want to take a moment to shout out all of the amazing writers on here keeping Queliot alive. I appreciate each and every one of you telling your stories and sharing with all of us. It's up to us to tell their stories now <3 And thank you to all of the readers going on these healing journeys with us <3 <3

“Mr. Hoberman, unless your goal is to eliminate this piece of metal by allowing it to sit here for eternity while it succumbs to the natural process of rusting, your tut formation is really going to get us nowhere,” Professor Morrison sighed from her desk at the side of the classroom. 

“Well, I am a naturalist,” Josh shrugged while untangling his fingers. 

“And yet you blessed me with picking up this class as your elective. We’ll work on this after class together, Mr. Hoberman. Mr. Waugh, would you like to show the class how it’s done?” 

Eliot resisted the urge to roll his eyes before standing up. Professor Morrison joined the Brakebills staff the previous month and was still new enough to be impressed with Eliot’s aptitude for magic. This also meant that Eliot was her guinea pig and default selection when trying to show the class how easily they  _ should _ be picking something up. 

He gave Josh an apologetic half-smile as Josh passed him on the way back to his desk. 

“Mr. Waugh, how do you think we should eliminate the piece of metal in front of you?”

Eliot could feel his fingers yearning to tut. It was natural as breathing. He didn’t have to  _ think.  _ He knew. If he didn’t have to explain he would be done already. 

“Reynard’s Destruction Theoretical. Heat the object from within until the atomic particles and heat are emulsified enough to extract the hydrogen atoms to combine with the ambient oxygen, eradicating the object as steam when the newly created water interacts with the heated object itself,” Eliot raced, wanting to get through the explanation so he could just  _ do  _ it. 

“And the Circumstances?”

Eliot’s pinkies flexed. 

“Mercury is in retrograde so the thumbs should stay steady pointing due south, and we are between sunrise and sunset so hands should be held at heart-height.” 

Professor Morrison smiled. “Off you go,” she replied with a wave of her hand. 

Eliot closed his eyes and brought his hands up to his chest, breathing out the Latin incantation while flexing his fingers in and out of a series of complex symmetrical motions. Within minutes, the piece of metal on the marble desk began to glow red with heat, then eventually evaporate into a long wisp of steam. 

“Stupendous Mr. Waugh. You may sit down. Did everyone see how his wrists remained stationary even as his fore-and middle fingers traced from north to south axis? Very difficult but very possible. It takes much practice but each of you can accomplish it. I would like everyone to practice that particular Popper in preparation for the next class - Popper 86. Please be sure to practice in sight of other people, the wrong motion could potentially set you on fire and it’s just better if people are around to assist with that. OK, well we can call it a few minutes early. Thank you all for your attention today,” Professor Morrison waved her hand in dismissal as she sat at her desk. Eliot grabbed his notebook and grinned as he saw the instructor about to call for Josh as he bolted out of the room. Morrison just shook her head and waved her hand again and she began to flip through the notebook on her desk. 

Eliot caught up with Josh on the Great Lawn and Josh slowed his pace to fall into step with him.

“Sorry about Morrison. I don’t find the method of teaching by humiliation to be incredibly effective,” Eliot said with an eye roll. Josh just laughed in response. 

“Man I thought you would know better at this point that I really don’t give a shit. I’m a Naturalist. I took this as an elective so I can try to impress that Knowledge student Britney with how multi-talented I am. I already learned how to make fireworks from my fingertips, so I’m all good,” Josh said, creating a few sparks as an example. Eliot chuckled. 

“Well I’m glad. And… seriously let me know when you want to practice that Popper. I much rather help you than you light yourself on fire.”

“Much obliged my dude,” Josh said, clapping him on the back. He waved as he headed off to his next class.

Eliot kept heading towards the Cottage when he saw Margo ahead of him, perched on a bench reading a book.

“What a stunning vision of nerdiness and grace,” he cooed, easily falling into the bench next to her feet, leaning towards her. 

“I’ll never understand how you find the practice of reading ‘nerdy’”, Margo mumbled, never taking her eyes from the book. 

“Because I’m a classic hedonist,” Eliot replied while letting his head fall back and stretching his legs out in front of him. Margo gave him a small smile and an eye roll while closing the book and resting it against her stomach. 

They sat in silence for a few comfortable moments while drinking in the sunshine. 

“Hey, are you stil fucking Hoberman?” Eliot asked as Margo tucked her feet under his thigh. 

“Mmmm, not since he started catching feelings at the end of last semester.”

“Poor guy.”

“Yeah, he was a surprisingly good lay. Why, did he suggest that he misses mama?”

“No, just wondering if you were still keeping your options open now that you and Julia are a thing.”

“I don’t know how many times I have to tell you that nothing happened with Knowledge Girl. She passed out in the car on the way to her apartment. She is in the midst of a bisexual panic now. It’s all very dramatic.”

“She has seemed quite…. frazzled, recently.”

Margo blew a puff of air from her nose while looking out at the passers by. 

“I do feel bad that she seems to be in some bi-panic. But I am definitely not the person to walk her through it. I’m just giving her some space to deal with her emotions, and I’ll be around if she wants to talk.”

Eliot nodded, making a note to make it a point to find Julia tonight to have an actual check-in with her rather than letting her dismiss that particular conversation, as had been happening all week. 

Margo took the lull in the conversation to change directions. 

“So, your date is tomorrow, right?

Eliot sighed. “Yes Margo, it is still tomorrow. If you and Julia haven’t talked me out of it yet you’re not talking me out of it now.”

Margo shrugged. “You know what, I decided to stop fighting it. I think that our ‘This one is forbidden fruit’ is just making him more attractive to you. He really isn’t even that cute. You two go out on your date, bang him, and get it out of your system. Hopefully this bi panic is strong enough to distract Julia that her best friend is all hung up on your dick once you let that ship sail.”

“Don’t we have a class or something to head to now, nerd?” Eliot asked while standing and rolling his eyes.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Julia’s Manhattan loft was warm despite the late fall chill outside. The last remnants of sunshine came in through the chiffon curtains of the living room. Eliot sat on the sofa, head leaned all the way back despite his curls best interest. 

He had been grateful that earlier that week Julia agreed to let him stay in her apartment for the weekend, even after she found out that he was taking her best friend on a date. She seemed to have a similar mindset to Margo of, “Go get this out of your system,” though hers ended with a more hopeful, “Maybe this is what Q needs to get back in the game,” followed swiftly by, “If you do anything to hurt him I will use everything I learned so far to rip your actual heart our of your actual fucking chest, expulsion and arrest be damned”.

The feeling of gratefulness was quickly giving way to unexpected feelings of panic and nerves. 

Eliot always knew the kind of person he wanted to be. When he was small he envisioned a specific kind of life for himself when his family wasn't home and he got to flip through his mothers fashion magazines. The beautiful, proud men wearing their stunning clothes and make-up and posing for the camera seemingly without embarrassment or fear. He burned the images into his brain so he could escape into them when he wasn’t surrounded by the magazines, when he heard his father’s drunken rants from the other room, when he sat at the empty table in the lunchroom at school. He lost himself in the thoughts of his grownup life when he could wear fashionable clothing and have friends that would want to be around him and wouldn't yell at him or hurt him and wouldn’t make fun of his voice or his hair or how smart he was. 

And when he escaped Indiana on a partial scholarship to a university in Philadelphia, he got a taste of that life. He joined a campus LGBTQ group and started making friends like him. But a partial scholarship is a partial scholarship, and the rest of the bills needed to be paid if he didn't want to move back home. So while Eliot had a few friends and some casual hookups, he spent most of the time not dedicated to his classes and studying to working odd jobs to make ends meet and pay his tuition. 

Then Eliot found himself at Brakebills. And all of the sudden he had time and a clean slate. He perfected the person he had always wanted to be. Magic came to him like second nature, so little of his time was dedicated to studying and the rest was dedicated to exploring himself and others. Eliot fine-tuned his glamorous, mysterious persona, found his best bitch, dazzled boys with his looks and magic skills, and lived his dream life in his cozy little magic world.

Where Eliot felt he lacked in the romance department during his undergraduate he made up for in spades during his two years at Brakebills. Everyone knew Eliot Waugh, the enigmatic first year, the savant, one of the few Brakebills scholars that didn’t come from and Ivy League school, who made cocktails with a flourish and was always ready for a party. He hosted more men and women in his bed than he could count and enjoyed casually shooing them away the next day so no one would get too attached. 

Eliot attributed himself, to the person sitting on the sofa currently crushing his beautiful curls, to magic. He was literally not who he was without magic. The only version of himself that he was proud of was birthed from magic, clothed in magic.

He knew, deep down, that is why he had never left campus since first stepping foot in Brakebills. Going into the world without his true armor was terrifying. He couldn’t impress Quentin with his incompatible magic skills because Quentin couldn’t know that magic exists. Eliot just had to be….. himself. But who was Eliot without magic? He was a lonely little boy dreaming of being someone else. 

Eliot felt his heartbeat start to pick up and he tried to take some calming breaths. 

“Invoke Lizzo. You  _ are  _ 100% that bitch, Eliot Waugh. 100% that bitch.” 

Eliot felt his cheeks start to redden and face grow warm. His palms started to feel sweaty. His heartbeat didn’t slow. He kept taking grounding breaths. 

“OK, well, you are being insane. Right now, say 5 nice things about yourself. Go. OK, I’m really tall and I can admit that is super hot.. I’m smart, not just with magic but in a multitude of fields - I was on the Dean’s List every semester of undergrad for gods’ sake. I’m scrappy - I put myself through college with literally no guidance or support. Ok not to be crass… to myself, but I have a pretty big dick and have gotten some good feedback on that too. Um last thing… uh… OK, there is a guy who is meeting me tonight who has no idea I’m a magician and is still seemingly really excited to go out with me. Because he liked being around me. Because I’m a good person. Eliot Waugh, you are 100% that bitch. ”

Eliot took a few more deep breaths, feeling his heartbeat even out and face cool down slightly. A few more minutes had passed when he heard his cell phone vibrate on the table next to him. He leaned over to grab it and felt his heart drop when he saw “Quentin” on the screen. 

_ Well, this is him cancelling on a bad bitch, noncommittal.  _

Eliot quickly opened the text, a la ripping off the bandaid as quickly as possible. 

_ ‘Thoughts on pre-dinner drink @ Jules? Got to Manhattan earlier than planned. Totally ok if not tho! Can meet you at restaurant like planned. Nbd, whichev!’ _

Eliot sighed.  _ I don’t play tag, bitch, I been it. _

‘ _ Sounds perfect, I just got finished getting ready. I could absolutely use a drink - I’m meeting this really cute guy later.’ _

‘ _ So weird, me 2! ::blushing smile emoji::’ _

Eliot chuckled, feeling even more confidence seep into his pores as he went to the kitchen area to survey what drinks were available. He was pleased to find that between the kitchen cabinets and the barcart all the makings of a proper Manhattan were available because, when in Rome, and as he was searching for the appropriate glasses he heard a soft knock at the door. 

He paused his search to head towards the front door and looked through the peephole, face warming again. 

Eliot opened the door as Quentin knocked cautiously again. 

“Eliot! Hi! Sorry for not buzzing up. One of the neighbors was leaving as I walked up to the door so I just came in. I don’t think I’m supposed to do that, apparently some people have been making complaints about other neighbor’s guests doing -”   
  
“Well I suppose I can harbor a fugitive if you want to hide in here.”

Quentin chuckled while ducking his head and walking through the door. 

“I was just about to fix some Manhattan’s, can I interest you in one?”

“Oh yeah, that sounds great I’d love one.”

Quentin trailed Eliot and then hopped up onto the kitchen counter next to the bar cart. Eliot pushed his sleeves up to his elbows as he set up the bottles and glasses in front of him.  _ Can’t show him actual magic so the next best thing will have to do.  _

“So, do the subways in New York typically get one to a given location 45 minutes early or am I just a very lucky boy?” Eliot asked as he worked the cart, keeping his eyes trained on the task at hand while a grin played on his lips. He felt Quentin’s gaze bearing into him as he seamlessly poured the drinks. A Manhattan wasn't a particularly difficult drink to make, so he threw in a few flourishes for show and even tossed the Maraschino cherry jar in the air for kicks. 

“No, not at all. I’m just a particularly anxious boy, honestly. It was umm either get here 45 minutes early or run 45 minutes late after panic-reading _ Fillory and Further _ , so I uh picked the one that I figured would be the better second-impression option,” Quentin finished with a shrug.

“ _ Fillory and Further _ ? You and Margo would have a field day together. She still loves those books,” Eliot replied, holding up a completed cocktail to Quentin. Quentin accepted it and they clinked glasses before taking a drink. 

Eliot closed as eyes as he felt the whiskey burn down his throat. He let out a content hum as he opened his eyes, then saw Quentin with an empty glass in his hand and grimace on his face. 

“Did you - did you just chug the whole drink?” he asked with an incredulous chuckle. 

“I uh… I didn’t know what a Manhattan was but wanted to sound like I knew what it was. I didn't know it was whiskey. I hate whiskey. Everything burns,” Quentin said with his face still screwed up.

Eliot barked out a laugh as he walked to the fridge and pulled out a container of iced tea. He poured some in another glass on the counter and handed it to Quentin. 

“I can’t believe you just chugged sipping whiskey,” Eliot said still laughing. 

Quentin blushed as he gratefully drank the iced tea then set the glass down. 

“Well, that was embarrassing.”

Eliot smiled. “So you hate whiskey?”

“Yeah. And vodka. And gin. And tequila. Honestly I hate most alcohol unless it’s mixed with like.. a lot of not-alcohol-tasting things. I’m uh definitely not the most refined drinker. The classiest drink I do is like, rum and Coke.”

“Can’t forget Jungle Juice,” Eliot grinned before taking another sip of his drink.

“Well naturally, but that’s a special occasion cocktail.”

“Well of course, silly me.”

“You seem to know what you’re doing behind the bar,” Quentin said, pouring himself some more iced tea. 

“Bartended on-and-off in undergrad to pay tuition. Now I just do it for my unappreciative heathen roommates who prefer swill like rum and Coke,” Eliot grinned over his glass as he took another sip.

“They sound like real assholes.”

“They’re pretty horrible. Don’t know why I bother with them.”

“You really need to get new friends.”

“I really should. Most of them can be ditched, anyway. Some are pretty hot, gotta keep the eye candy around,” he nudged Quentin’s knee playfully, since he figured Quentin was the kind of guy who needed a healthy dose of direction to understand that he was being flirted with. He got a shy grin and a glance down to the floor in response. 

Finishing the last of his drink, he watched as Quentin’s face shifted from questioning and worried to sure and determined. Then he felt a hand on the back of his neck pulling him in and Quentin surging forward to kiss him. 

It took about three seconds for Eliot to comprehend what was happening. When his brain and limbs finally began to communicate he responded by placing his empty glass down and taking the final half step to press himself into the counter between Quentin’s legs. His now-empty hand settled on Quentin’s hip, the other on his neck. 

“Is this OK?” Quentin whispered into Eliot’s neck. 

“I… yeah, this is definitely OK. But what exactly is happening here?”

Quentin placed another kiss to Eliot’s neck before pulling away to meet his eyes. “I want to pick up where I cut you off at that party.”

Eliot nodded, letting out a breath of air. “Well, yes, let’s proceed with this train of thought.”

Quentin smiled before sliding his hands to Eliot’s chest and capturing his lips in a slow, sweet kiss. 

Eliot felt as if he was going to melt between Quentin’s thighs from the soft sounds coming from Quentin’s throat. His fingers traced a path up and down Quentin’s spine over the soft layers of his shirt and sweater combo. 

When Eliot was sure his legs were minutes away from giving out he trailed his lips to Quentin’s ear to ask, “Mr. Coldwater can I invite you to my temporary bedroom?” 

“As long as it’s the guest room and not Julia’s room,” Quentin laughed as he started to loosen Eliot’s tie. 

They made their way to the guest bedroom between kisses and undoing the buttons on each others shirts.

“I would like to let you know what I put a lot of effort into this outfit to impress you,” Eliot breathed while Quentin’s lips ghosted over the space between his collar bones. 

“It worked,” Quentin said, throwing Eliot’s tie to the floor.

Quentin finished unbuttoning Eliot’s shirt before sliding it off his body along with his vest. He then gently coaxed Eliot back onto the bed and then crawled on top of him. Eliot propped himself up on his elbows as Quentin kissed down his chest, down his stomach until he reached pants and belt buckle. Eliot kicked off his shoes as Quentin undid his belt and threw it to the ground. 

“I feel like you are wearing a few too many layers at this party,” Eliot grinned, playing with Quentin's hair as he started to undo the fly on Eliot’s slacks. 

Quentin chuckled as he got onto his knees and proceeded to pull the charcoal grey sweater over his head and threw it to the floor with a flourish and silly pose. That prompted Eliot to bend at the waist to kiss him and unbutton the black button-down shirt as Quentin’s hands raked through his hair. Once the button-down joined the sweater on the floor, Quentin pulled his tank top over his head and threw it into the pile as Eliot shimmied out of his slacks. 

“You are pretty fucking gorgeous, Coldwater,” Eliot said with a grin as he fell back onto the pillows, staring up at the shirtless man straddling his hips. 

Quentin looked thrown for a second, then his cheeks and chest flushed a deeper shade of red as he mumbled “Thanks” with a small smile. 

_ Extremely insecure. Huh.  _ Eliot wanted to push more, to try to make Quentin believe he was absolutely gorgeous. But his thoughts were derailed by the sensation of his briefs being pulled down and tossed aside. 

“Holy shit,” Eliot heard. He looked up to see Quentin covering his eyes with one hand, shaking his head and laughing. “Fuck dude, you are so fucking big,” he continued with a disbelieving laugh. 

Eliot let out a laugh while falling back on the pillows. “I can’t remember the last time someone called me ‘dude’ in bed. This actually might be a first, which I haven’t been able to say in some time.”

Quentin laughed again, took his hand away from his face as he met Eliot’s eyes. 

“Sorry for not giving you the full disclosure that I am not the world’s smoothest lover,” he chuckled.

“That’s ok, you’re pretty enough to make up for it,” Eliot grinned back, stomach muscles tensing under Quentin’s light touch. Quentin then leaned down to capture Eliot’s lips in a soft kiss while grabbing Eliot’s hard dick between them and stroking slowly.

“Yeah?” Quentin whispered as his mouth hovered over Eliot’s, thumb gently rubbing the underside of the head of Eliot’s dick. 

“So fucking pretty, I wanted you the moment I saw you,” Eliot breathed out, eyes closed and head lightly digging into the pillow as Quentin gripped him stronger. 

The bed creaked as Quentin began kissing his way down Eliot’s torso. He let out a puff of air as he felt Quentin place a light kiss at the base of his cock before moving away. 

“Please feel free to continue with that train of thought,” Eliot lightly whined. He opened his eyes to see Quentin pulling a condom wrapper from his back pocket. 

“Mr. Coldwater, you said you weren’t a smooth lover. You seem to have this whole seduction planned out.”

Quentin chuckled while opening the wrapper.    
  
“More like hopeful, but I guess guilty as charged. They’re even flavored for my pleasure,” he waived the wrapper with a smile before tossing it aside. 

“And what chemically enhanced fruit is your poison?” Eliot rushed before taking in a deep breath as Quentin positioned the condom over the head and started rolling down.

“It was a variety pack - pretty sure this one is peach,” Quentin said as he rolled the condom down with his hand. He then got a glint in his eye and wrapped his lips around Eliot’s dick. He then pushed the condom most of the way down with his mouth. Eliot felt his eyes roll to the back of his head as Quentin’s tongue slowly traced from the underside base to tip as his hand rolled the end down securely. 

“I was right,” Quentin grinned, flicking the head with his tongue. 

“Such a smart boy,” Eliot mumbled, running his hand down his torso, across Quentin’s cheek, then into his hair, gripping firmly. “Is this OK?” 

“Absolutely,” Quentin replied. He then went on to devastate Eliot with his mouth, sucking and swirling as Eliot’s heels dug into the bed. His hand took over as his mouth sucked gently on each of Eliot’s balls. A few minutes later Eliot was aware that a litany of curses tumbled out of his mouth as Quentin’s mouth and hand worked in tandem, but he wasn’t cognizant enough to recognize what they were. 

“Quentin I’m - fuck yes that’s - Q I’m gonna - I’m - I’m - fuck Q,” Eliot squeezed his eyes shut and dug the back of his head into the pillow while gripping Quentin’s hair tightly as he rode out his orgasm, all while Quentin very gently sucked his balls through it until the sensation became too much. 

Eliot ran his fingers through his hair as Quentin kissed his way back up Eliot’s body. He reached Eliot’s lips and Eliot pulled him in for a slow kiss. 

“Fuck baby, that was fucking incredible. You have quite a technique going there, I don’t know how you keep the boys away,” Eliot whispered into Quentin’s mouth before pulling him in for one more soft kiss. 

“Chairs and whips like a lion-tamer, mostly,” Quentin quipped as they broke apart. 

Eliot grinned, and moved his hand down to remove the condom. Knowing there was going to be a bit of a mess, he lifted his other hand to lazily tut for a washcloth from the bathroom. 

Quentin giggled and kissed Eliot’s neck.    
  
“What are you doing?” 

Eliot froze. 

“I uh - trying to summon the strength to get up for a washcloth but you have my whole body feeling like jelly. I can’t control any of my limbs apparently,” he covered smoothly as possible. 

Quentin chuckled again and swung his legs over the bed. 

“I can get that for you.”

Eliot took a second to appreciate Quentin’s naked back and cute butt in not-terribly-fitting jeans as he walked out of the room. He then closed his eyes to perform another tut, ensuring that the cloth he had began to move was exactly where it should be in the bathroom instead of randomly in the middle of the floor. 

Quentin came back a moment later with the washcloth and a cup of water. 

“You know what, Quentin Coldwater? You’re pretty swell,” Eliot smiled as Quentin handed him both as he got back into bed. Quentin just smiled in response as Eliot took a sip of the water then offered the cup to Quentin. Eliot quickly cleaned himself up and threw the condom into the trash can. 

As soon as Quentin placed the cup down on the side table, Eliot flipped him over. 

“In case you are wondering, this is the best start to a first date that I’ve ever had,” he said between kisses along Quentin’s jaw. 

Quentin laughed and then groaned as he felt Eliot’s hand stroke his dick through his pants. 

“This is not something I um.. do really. I’m not usually so… forward? Something about you, I don't know what it is, I just, uhhhhhhhh.”

Eliot smiled into the spot he was sucking on Quentin’s neck

“There’s something about you too, Quentin. Now let me make you feel as good as you just made me feel, hmm? Let me get these pants off of you?”

Eliot made quick work of discarding Quentin’s remaining layers after Quentin consented. Sitting on his calves after throwing Quentin’s boxers to the floor, Eliot gently ran his hands up from Qunetin’s feet to his hips. 

“Jesus, you are beautiful,” he whispered. 

Eliot positioned himself to kiss Quentin’s sternum. He then proceeded to trail featherlight kisses down his body, and felt Quentin’s posture stiffen and he kissed below his belly button. Quentin placed his hand on Eliot’s chin gently. 

“Can you keep kissing me?” he asked softly. 

“With pleasure,” Eliot smiled, making his way back up his body. He propped himself up on his left arm and tipped Quentin’s face to his with his right hand on his chin. 

“Is this ok? Do you want to stop?” Eliot pulled away a moment later to ask. 

Quentin shook his head. 

“I definitely don’t want to stop. But can you, like use your hand instead?”

“I think I can make that work,” Eliot smiled, leaning into another kiss while working his right hand down Quentin’s body. Right before he reached his dick he slowed, forced Quentin to meet his eye. 

“Is this ok?” he asked again. 

Quentin nodded quickly. 

“Please,” he whispered before kissing Eliot again. 

Eliot rolled his forefinger and thumb around the head of Quentin’s dick, eliciting a gasp in their kiss. Eliot grinned as he pulled away. 

“Hang on, let me grab some lube,” he said softly, jumping out of bed before he could accidentally tut for it. He dug through the suitcase on the other side of the room, easily finding the lube in a zipper pocket. He turned around to walk to the bed and saw Quentin propped up on his elbows watching him, slowly stroking himself. 

“You seem to have this whole seduction planned out.”

“More like hopeful, but I guess guilty as charged,” Eliot grinned as he got back on the bed, hovering over Quentin. 

“That was a delicious picture I turned around to, by the way” Eliot said, flipping open the cap the lube to place some in his own hand. 

Quentin settled into the pillows and removed his hand Eliot got back in position. 

“I can say the same myself,” Quentin replied right before Eliot grasped onto his twitching cock. 

Eliot and Quentin’s kisses were slow as the hand stroking Quentin. Some time later when Eliot felt Quentin’s breath hitch he sped up his hand and their kisses. He eventually broke away to lean their foreheads together, feeling Quentin’s hot, rushed breath splay across his face. 

“Tell me how you like it, baby. Tell me what you want. I want to get you off, make you feel so good,” Eliot urged as Quentin’s whimpers intensified. 

“I’m close - I just - can you go faster? And - uhhh fuck - keep talking?” Quentin panted.

Eliot let his cooperative hands respond and soon Quentin’s breath told him he was about to come. Eliot whispered praise and desires between kisses to Quentin’s throat and soon felt the tell-tale stiffening of his entire body. Both of Quentin’s hands brought Eliot’s face to his - his moans of pleasure were breathed directly into Eliot’s parted lips as his hand worked Quentin through his climax. 

They lay in bed for a few minutes, softly kissing exchanging soft words. Finally Eliot kissed Quentin’s temple before getting out of bed. He returned a minute later carrying a warm washcloth and mentally congratulating himself for not summoning it with magic. 

He got back into bed and laid on his side, propping himself up on his elbow as he used the other hand to wipe up the mess on Quentin’s stomach and dick with the warm towel. 

“This is uh- really nice aftercare,” Quentin mumbled, settling back into the pillows. 

“Well deserved,” Eliot smiled back. After he was satisfied that he got everything, he pulled the covers over them so Quentin wouldn’t chill as the water cooled down. Eliot nuzzled into the pillows and laid some kisses on to Quentin’s shoulder - and then started to chuckle. 

“That makes me feel great, the laughing,” Quentin said, covering his eyes.

Eliot chuckled again and kissed Quentin’s shoulder once more. “No, no, I was just playing back everything in my head -”   
  
“Feeling a ton better, thanks,” Quentin pulled the covers over his head.

That made Eliot laugh even louder while trying to peel Quentin out of the covers.

“Please come out! I swear it’s not whatever you’re thinking.”

Quentin shifted the blankets so one eye was peeking out.

“The faster the better because I want to die right now,” came his muffled voice. Eliot kissed his forehead in response. 

“Did you kiss me because I called you hot? Was this all spurred on by my super indirect compliment?” 

Quentin pushed the quilt down to his chest. 

“What can I say? I’m an easy date.”

Eliot raised an eyebrow but refrained from responding as he saw Quentin was formulating a more detailed response. 

“I uh… I really like you. And I am really grateful for how you treated me the night of the party. I uh… I wouldn't have regretted it, if we had sex that night. But I wasn’t… I wasn’t sober and you recognized that and you respected that. And I’m really… grateful. And on top of that…”

Quentin sighed and shifted, resting his chin on top of his hand resting below Eliot’s chest, meeting Eliot’s eyes through long lashes.

“I made a decision recently to do what makes me happy because I have spent a shit ton of time not doing that. And you’re really hot. And nice. And funny. And smart. And I like you. And I figured sleeping with you would make me happy. And I wasn’t wrong.”

Eliot smiled, pushing the hair falling into Quentin’s eyes back and then sliding to cup his cheek. 

_ There’s more there for me to learn about this,  _ Eliot thought as his fingers slipped from Quentin’s cheek.  _ But I’m guessing it’s not first-date discussion. _

“Well, Mr. Coldwater, you just slept with the High King of Doing-What-Makes-Me-Happy. I’m either going to be an extremely good influence on you, or an exceptionally poor one.”

“I guess we’ll just have to wait and see,” Quentin smiled, rolling back onto the pillows. A few comfortable minutes passed with gentle finger strokes on each others exposed skin.

“We did this kind of backwards, hmm?”

Quentin slid his hand across Eliot’s chest, playing with his chest hair. 

“Sorry,” he mumbled. 

“No no no, please do not be sorry. 10 out of 10, would start our date this way again, if given the chance.”

Quentin lazily circled one of Eliot’s nipples with his fingers. 

“Want to do something really crazy and go get dinner on this date?”

Eliot laughed. “Absolutely, I’m starving.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

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	6. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Quick bring-you-up-to-speed since I haven't updated in 27 years:
> 
> Quentin isn't a magician. Eliot, Margo and Julia are.
> 
> Julia invites Margo and Eliot to a party in New York where Eliot and Quentin meet. The obviously hit it off because Queliot. 
> 
> Eliot agrees to go on a date with Quentin much to Margo and Julia's dismay. 
> 
> Quentin meet's Eliot before the date and gets quite saucy. Bow-wow-chicka-wow-wow ensues because we all deserve Quentin being unable to keep his hands off of Eliot.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi!!!
> 
> Like, a million apologies if you are a person that likes this story and was waiting for an update. I really do love this story and this little world I'm creating, but I'm just not good at keeping to a schedule. I could go on for hours why it takes me so long to update but you have waited long enough. Anywho, I hope you like this chapter!
> 
> Sending love and positivity to everyone - wow things in the world are just not really awesome right now. Hoping you are feeling mentally and physically strong. If you aren't, there is no shame in that and I and so many others are sending you virtual hugs and encouragement. This will get better. 
> 
> As always, BIGGGGG shouts to all of the wonderful writers sharing their Magicians stories. Though it takes me so long to update my own, I devour each and every story that is posted and I send so much love and appreciation to our wonderful fandom keeping Queliot alive. 
> 
> And big shouts to the readers! We are a small but mighty fandom, thank you for sharing in all of our journeys :-)

“So Margo is rushing around the apartment, late as shit, grabs two or three of the brownies and shoves them down her throat. Since she hadn't been around the night before she didn't realize that they were Josh’s brownies so they were just like, half weed. So she shows up to class and I’m watching her spiral just like, fucking high beyond belief. She is fidgeting and looking around like she is seeing ghosts and is just all over the place. Finally she just shouts in the middle of class, “El, either I’m losing my shit or there is a fuckin’ unicorn in here!”

Eliot started cracking up and Quentin laughed along with him. The breeze was cool as they walked down the bustling street, and Quentin moved closer to Eliot’s body and tentatively took his hand. Eliot gave a slight squeeze of approval and felt Quentin relax. 

“I know I don’t know her very well but I seriously can’t imagine her losing her cool like that. It must have been quite a sight,” Quentin chuckled. 

“It was… so weird. I just immediately got up and escorted her out of the class. After asking her a few questions I figured out what happened and took her back to the apartment for her to ride it out,” Eliot finished with a fond eye roll. 

This was easy. Substitute cottage for apartment. Substitute whatever-magic-essence Josh put in the brownies for weed. It wasn’t lying. Just… selective editing of the story. This was fine, for now.

“It’s weird that you and Margo had class together,” Quentin said, lazily curious.

“Hmm?” 

“Well, I just can't imagine too many classes overlap between the MBA program and the Applied Physics masters program,” Quentin replied with a one-shoulder shrug. 

Shit. Well they don’t. 

“Sorry. I’m a shit story teller,” Eliot said breezily. “This was in undergrad.”

“Oh, cool. I didn’t know you guys went to undergrad together.”

Well, they didn’t. 

“We did, and she just followed me to Yale. I just can’t keep the ladies away,” Eliot laughed.

Quentin squeezed his hand softly and chuckled as well. 

“Hey, so this is your metro station. Not sure if you wanted to head back to Julia’s or not. I could take you back or just tell you how to get there… unless you wanted to do something else? I’m not a great planner, I just planned dinner. But like if you are tired and want to go back that’s fine. But like if you-” 

Eliot chuckled and nudged Quentin softly with his shoulder to save him from his spiral. 

“Trying to get rid of me, Coldwater?”

“No, not at all! I’d love to stay out a bit longer, I just didn’t want to keep you out if you’re ready to go back.”

Eliot grinned. 

“It is a beautiful fall night, I have a handsome boy on my arm, and I’m in the greatest city in the world. I’m more than happy to stay out.”

Quentin smiled while looking down at the sidewalk.

“So, it seems like I might have to plan this half of the evening?” Eliot asked.

“Yeah all I had planned was dinner.”

“Which was great.”

“And, uh, now I know that you hate sushi and I will definitely check in on cuisine hard-no’s before planning any other dates in my entire life,” Quentin laughed.

“Life is all about living and learning.”

Eliot stood still for a moment, prompting Quentin to stop walking too. “We’re close to Hell’s Kitchen, right?” Quentin nodded. “We’re practically there already. The neighborhood technically starts, like, a block west of here.”

“Well, I am normally far more creative than this, I’ll have you know, but with just a few seconds of planning I’m thinking maybe we can duck into one of New York City’s famed gay bars for a cockail before heading back?”

“Really?” Quentin asked. He looked…. apprehensive?

“Just a thought. Wait, you’re… you’re ok with gays, right? I mean I assumed so after you had my dick in your mouth but I know gay rights is a touchy subject for some,” Eliot asked with a smirk and raised eyebrow. Quentin laughed and nudged him with his shoulder. 

“Yeah I mean I guess everyone deserves happiness or whatever. Yeah, that sounds great. I don’t know why I said really, I’d love to. I can’t lie though, I haven’t been to… many so I won’t be able to make any good suggestions.”

“Well naturally after your dinner selection I am dying to know your input on this venture.”

“Hey you said you liked the ramen!”

Eliot chuckled and nudged Quentin back softly. “I did. But I actually been to the bars here a few times when I made trips here in undergrad. Can you check on your fancy space phone to see if Therapy is still open? I haven’t been in a few years but I assume it is. Also the address because I have no fucking clue where I am,”

“You are the only person under like, sixty who I have ever met that doesn’t have a smartphone,” Quentin replied while pulling up his phone and looking up what Eliot asked. 

“Well, excuse me, Daddy Warbucks, that my phone plan doesn't meet your standards.”

“I’m uh, just saying that at this point it is probably more expensive to find and use a flip phone. That’s probably like, the only one left in the world. I think I saw an ad the other day that the Smithsonian was looking for them for an exhibit.”

“Oh, perhaps I can sell it to them and use the money to go to more wonderful sushi restaurants.”

Quentin let out a genuine laugh and shoved his phone back in his pocket. 

“After tonight you are never allowed to make fun of me about that. You are the only person in the world with a flip phone and the only person in the world that hates sushi. Come on, your bar is still open and it is just a few blocks away,” he grinned, tugging Eliot to follow him. 

“It wasn’t that bad. The tap water, specifically, was delectable.”

“Hey I paid for dinner!”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Eliot pushed some cash across the counter to the bartender and leaned against the bar. It was packed and leaning against the bar also meant invading Quentin’s personal space, which he was fine with. The bar was as crowded as he would expect for a Saturday, but they managed to score one seat at the end of the bar which Eliot offered to Quentin because he was a gentleman, thank you.  
“Now please keep in mind that I am fully cognizant that the man that served us was wearing nothing but briefs and a dog collar and there is currently a 2000’s pop diva video playlist happening, but the drink you ordered is the gayest thing here,” Eliot said seriously, taking a sip of his vodka-soda.

“Yeah, but uh, it’s delicious. And where else can I order a Blue Hawaiin without people being, like, super judgey?” Quentin shrugged. 

“Oh, darling, everyone is being super judgey. Luckily you are extremely handsome so almost all of their attention is on this gorgeous face of yours and they are burning with jealousy that I get to be here with you,” Eliot smiled while leaning in. “But then they see that drink and they’re a bit ‘ehhhh’ and less so,” Eliot finished with a light but lingering kiss. 

“You’re just jealous that your drink is boring,” Quentin said while looking down at his drink, a flush across his cheeks.

“You taste blue,” Eliot shuddered, taking another sip of his own. 

He put the glass down, and turned so his attention was on the lively scene in front of him. The bar behind him dug into his back, but he kept his focus on the feeling of Quentin’s legs bracketing him back and front. It had been quite some time since he had been in a gay club - not since he started at Brakebills. Granted, Brakebills was an extremely liberal place and he never felt uncomfortable there, but there was something diffent about being in a very specifically queer space - seeing a room full of queer people dancing and kissing and laughing and just connecting made his heart swell in a way that he couldnt describe. He let one hand fall Quentin’s knee while he took another sip of his drink and turned to face him. He frowned when he saw Quentin’s face framed by his hair, still staring down at his drink. 

“Hey,” Eliot said softly as he could to still be heard over the music. “You good?”

“Yeah! Yeah I’m totally -” Eliot watched Quentin let out a little huff and then look up at him with the most glorious, pathetic, big brown puppy dog eyes. “Is this really embarrassing?” he asked, shaking his drink glass slightly. 

Eliot frowned and took the glass in his own hands, taking a big swig of it before handing it back to Quentin. He then cupped Quentins cheek and reassuringly rubbed his thumb up and down his cheek before letting his hand settle on the crook of his neck. 

“Darling, no. In case you haven’t noticed yet, I can occasionally be a bit pretentious. Or so I’m told.” 

“I can’t imagine who would say such a thing,” Quentin grinned back, finally meeting Eliot’s eyes.

“I’m very misunderstood, truly. However you might want to be careful - that drink does possibly have the recommended weekly sugar allowance according to the Surgeon General.”

“Not pretentious at all,” Quentin replied with a grin. 

“People have judged me so harshly.”

“I like when you call me that, by the way,” Quentin said, bringing his hand up to entwine with the hand on his neck.

“Darling?” Eliot asked and Quentin nodded in response. 

Eliot smiled and used their joined hand to tuck a stand of hair behind Quentin’s ear. “Then maybe I’ll do it more often.”

He smiled as Quentin took another sip of his drink. They were both already nearing the end of their beverages so he turned so Quentin’s legs bracketed his other side as he waited to get the attention of the bartender. 

“Closing the tab?” Quentin asked, and Eliot took one second to preen that he recognized a hint of disappointment in his voice. 

“I know you have been trying to ditch me all night, Coldwater, but I’m getting a second drink. I’d love it if you’d stay and join me,” he smiled over his shoulder. 

“I guess I don’t have anything better to do,” he shrugged in response. Eliot grinned. 

The bartender approached and Eliot ordered another round for them. When the drinks were delivered he turned halfway around so he was now facing Quentin, a leg on either side of his hips. 

“Cheers, darling.”

Quentin’s face was beet red as they clinked glasses and took a drink together. Eliot then leaned in, their lips connecting a soft kiss as Eliot traced a hand down the line from Quentin’s shoulder, to his side his hip, and settled on his knee to pull it in closer to his own hip. He pulled away and felt his heart burst inside him, taking in Quentin’s still-closed eyes and slightly parted lips. Oh, this little Muggle was going to be his undoing. 

Quentin’s eyes snapped open as the music got drastically louder for a moment, then went silent and a booming voice coming from the stage welcomed them to the Saturday night drag show. Eliot scooted closer to Quentin and tucked his face almost into the side of his neck so they could hear each other over the now-louder music and audience. 

“Do you ever sit and think how lucky we are to be alive right now? Obviously things are far from perfect for LGBT folks. But to be able to be here, sitting like this, talking like this, watching all this - I sometimes forget to be grateful for everyone that fought for this, remember that so many before us weren’t so lucky.”

This felt a little heavy for a first date, and Eliot wasn’t exactly sure where it was coming from. It could have been the evening of drinks or the fact that he hadn’t been in a wholly queer space for almost two years, but he felt like he had to say it. He nuzzled the crook of Quentin’s neck and placed a quick kiss there - because he could. 

“I feel like I never really take advantage of the privilege,” Quentin responded, gazing across the bar at the Queen dancing to a Demi Lovato song. “This is my first time at a gay bar,” he said so softly that his voice was almost completely drowned out by the music. 

“Really?” Eliot asked, a little more incredulously than he intended, while pulling back to take in Quentin’s face. He nodded and looked down at his drink. 

“You are bi, right?” Eliot asked carefully and got another nod in response. “Can I ask why you never….” he trailed.

Quentin let out a small breath, looking back towards the stage and smiled as he took in the show for a moment. He turned his attention back to Eliot. 

“Is it ok if I don’t want to get into it right now?” he asked softly, puppy eyes back in full effect. 

“Of course, Quentin. But I need to know - are….are you ok being here now?”

“So, so OK,” he responded with a big smile.

They watched the show for a few moments in comfortable silence and cheered together as the Queen on stage did a perfect split during Crazy in Love. 

“I am going to be very, very bad at this. But will you dance with me?” Quentin asked with big hopeful eyes. 

Eliot immediately pulled him off of his bar stool. “Darling I thought you’d never ask.”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Eliot woke up feeling more content than he had in some time. He was in a bed with sheets that had to be 1,000 thread count, in a room much larger and brighter than his own. The evening's events began coming into focus and Elliot turned to face Quentin….’s side of the bed, which was missing one Quentin. Again.

He closed his eyes and snuggled back into the covers while he got his barings before starting the day. Quentin definitely came home with him last night, so he either snuck out early or was on another early morning breakfast run. He very much hoped it was the later but he needed another moment before he left his pillow-top heaven to explore.

Quentin was a nervous little jumble of tense energy as he danced on the floor of the club. Eliot had held him close, using his hands and body to move Quentin in more fluid, confident movements with him. A few songs played in succession, but after a while Eliot realized he couldn’t tell one from the other. Eventually Quentin found his own rhythm and they moved together in sync. Eliot kept his hand on Quentin’s hips as Quentin’s roamed from his ribs, his chest, shoulders, hair, neck, stomach, and round and round again. Through most of the songs their faces were just inches apart and they shared breath, until one of his rotations Quentin pulled Eliot down to kiss him. 

Eliot opened his eyes again and took in the room around him. Clothes were everywhere and he couldn’t help grin at the tie laying across the bedside lamp.

The music was pulsating so loud, the lights were strobing to the rhythm, bodies were pressed so tightly on the dance floor that every movement they made was shared with those around them. This wouldn’t do. 

“Come home with me, darling,” Eliot whispered into Quentin’s lips.

There was a clatter coming from the living room, so it was either the world's worst early morning intruder or Quentin. Eliot groaned while smiling into his pillow and stretching out catlike across the bed. 

The bedroom door swung open and Quentin walked in wearing his boxers and tank top holding two coffee mugs, hair loose and messy around his face. “Morning,” he said much too shyly for a boy that did the things he did yesterday afternoon….. and last night. 

“Mmmm, will I ever wake up with you still in bed with me Coldwater?” Eliot asked, taking a cup from Quentin as he got back into bed.  
“Well, breakfast is my favorite meal of the day so I’m a pretty early riser. Maybe if you weren’t so lazy?”

“Oh you made breakfast too? My hero,” Eliot said, ignoring the insult as he took a sip of coffee. 

“No, tried. I forgot that there would be no real groceries here because it’s Julia’s insane pied-a-terre. So while I brewed coffee I ordered from Grubhub. Hope you like pecan waffles and sugar-cured bacon.”

“Is it too early to say ‘I love you’? That’s bad form for the first date, right?”

Quentin snorted out a laugh and in that moment Eliot wasn’t sure if he had actually been joking or not. 

“Perhaps a little fast but no judgement when it comes to carbs and bacon.”

Quentin settled against the headboard and while drinking his coffee and Eliot did the same, making sure the blanket covered his lap because apparently the morning after an eventful night of hand and mouth stuff, that is what you do. “Hey,” Eliot said a moment after comfortable silence. Quentin looked over at him and smiled. “Hey.”

“I had fun last night,” Eliot said, sliding his free hand up Quentin’s shoulder. 

Quentin leaned into Eliot’s palm like putty. “Yeah, I had a pretty good time myself.”

“Good.”

Eliot lightly pulled Quentin’s hair as he returned his hand back to his coffee cup. The sound of an ambulance siren in the streets below broke the trance Eliot found himself in, reminding him that he was in Manhattan, in the real world. Margo and Julia were expecting him home in the early evening for a dinner night at the Cottage. He had to work on his aquamancy recitation for his Practical Applications class. He had to prep for The Trials with Margo. 

Quentin smiled over at him.

Eliot felt the mood shifting. He felt in his bones what was coming.

“I’d like to…. keep having a pretty good time with you.”

Jesus fuck this is happening. 

“You’re so smooth Coldwater,” Eliot said, buying time. 

Quentin huffed. He had the nerve to look over at Eliot with exasperation on his beautiful face, the kitten. 

“But like, you know what I’m saying right?”

Eliot’s life up until this point was a series of calculated decisions. The results of the Grand Transformation of Eliot Waugh was not the product of a series of accidents. 

He knew in his gut that this was a moment that truly mattered, but he still didn't have enough information to calculate the possible outcomes and make the decision that was in his best interest. 

Quentin looked over at him, with his big brown eyes and messy hair and pinched brow and all he could think was, ‘Why the fuck not’.

Eliot put the coffee cup down on the bedside table and moved on top of Quentin as fluidly as possibly, pulling him down on the bed so they were face to face. He rubbed their noses together before whispering, “With lines as smooth as that how can I not?”, morning breath be damned. 

Quentin tried to squirm from under him, but Eliot began to kiss at his neck so that project was quickly left unfinished.

“Seriously, I don’t want to say it and embarrass myself if we’re not on the same page so can you not be a dick?”

“You seemed to not mind my dick last night,” Eliot kissed into his collarbone. 

“That was a lame retort for you, and you know it. You know what I’m saying.”

Eliot laid his chin on Quentin’s sternum and stared up at him.

Quentin was giving him an out. This was the final moment to back away slowly and return to a life that he built and was stable, for him. 

“Why don’t you use your words to ask me and find out?”

Decision made. 

Quentin huffed again, looking out towards the window. Eliot let him hype himself up for a moment, then walked his fingers up Quentin’s side, across his check and up his neck to his chin, using one finger to turn Quentin to face him again. 

Quentin looked him in the eyes and blew out a stream of air from his nose while biting his lower lip. He lightly hit his head against the headboard with his eyes closed before asking, “Eliot, will you be my boyfriend?”

Eliot grinned and slid one of his hands up the bed to find Quentin’s hand and lace their fingers together. 

“If there is an uneven number of bacon strips in the order, who gets the extra slice?”

“Me obviously, I ordered it,” Quentin replied automatically. 

Eliot barked out a laugh and flipped them over to pull Quentin on top of him. “Quentin Coldwater, you got yourself a boyfriend.”

Arms bracketed around Eliot’s head from the flip, Quentin kissed his crown before shimmying down so they were face-to-face again. “You know at first glance you come across as very cool and suave but you are actually super lame.”

He slid his hands up the back of Quentin’s tank top and his long hair tickled his forehead. 

“Your super lame boyfriend, sorry you’re stuck with me. No take-backs.”

“No take-backs,” Quentin whispered as he pulled Eliot to him for a soft kiss. 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Eliot curled into the warm body next to him, luxuriating in the last few minutes of rest before opening his eyes and starting the day. He breathed in the subtle smell of lavender and vanilla before flipping over to his other side and letting a huge, eye-scrunching stretch to overtake his body. He shifted a bit until he bumped into… another body? His eyes flew open in confusion and panic and he looked up to see Julia sitting against the headboard giving him a small and wiggling her fingers in a hello. He flipped to his other side to see Margo also propped against the headboard, ams crossed against her chest and an eyebrow raised. 

“Morning, Sleeping Beauty.”

He closed his eyes again and flipped over onto his stomach.

“Good morning, ladies. May I ask why you are in my bed?”

“Well, asshole, you were supposed to be home in time for dinner yesterday, but you slinked home well past midnight and we didn’t want you to think you were getting out of cooking us brunch this morning,” Margo replied, nudging his foot with hers. “Don’t fall back asleep.”

“I made you coffee,” Julia said brightly, reaching to grab a cup from his bedside table and offered it to him.

Eliot groaned before removing the cup from her hands and placing it back on the table with his mind. He shimmied as far under the covers as he could without using his arms. 

“Two more hours.”

“No. It’s almost noon. Mama’s hungry and there are mimosas to be had. Wake the fuck up,” Margo replied with a heartier foot nudge. 

“It can’t be noon,” came Eliot’s voice from under the comforter. He never slept this late. 

“Yeah, it is Aurora. I know you had a full weekend of fucking your new boytoy’s brains out, but that does not mean you get out of cooking me huevos rancheros.”

“Margo!” Julia and Eliot shrieked and groaned in unison. 

“Sorry.” Eliot could feel her eye roll.

He sighed, stretching one more time under the comforter before worming from under it. As he shifted to sit against the headboard, he kissed Julia on the cheek with an apologetic grin while calling the coffee cup to his hands. “You’re wonderful for this, by the way.”

Margo harumph-ed and glared over to him and nudged her with this shoulder. “Morning, Bambi.”

“Breakfast better be sizzling in 10 minutes,” she replied, throwing her legs over the bed and heading towards the door. Eliot let his head fall against the headboard while taking a sip of coffee. 

“Heads up, Margo is pretty pissed that you missed dinner last night,” Julia said, ducking her head a little and letting out a soft chuckle. 

Eliot felt the tension in the room. He focused every bit of energy into the coffee cup in his hand, but he felt the heat of Julia’s stare - focused on him and everywhere and nowhere - hotter than anything he had ever felt. “So like, get ready for that tongue-lashing that I am sure is going to come.” He felt her chuckle trail off as she tried to sound unaffected.

“We’re dating,” Eliot spat out, before the nerve completely left him. He heard Julia suck in a breath and focus her gaze on him. He focused on the coffee cup. 

“Quentin and I. We’re dating,” he clarified, unnecessarily. “I’m his boyfriend. He’s my boyfriend.”

“Oh. Well that’s a breaking news headline,” Julia replied. He felt her stiffen at his side, her voice trailing off in a way that she wasn't sure if she was talking to him or herself. 

“Julia, I really care about him,” he said softly, not able to meet her gaze. 

“How is this going to work, Eliot? How… I can barely maintain a friendship with him with all of these lies. How are you - is entering into a partnership right now the best idea? Eliot do you have any idea of how committed Q gets to someone? How are you going to-”

“I have no idea, Julia,” he cut her off. 

He finally lifted his gaze from his coffee cup to her eyes. 

“I have no idea what I am doing. I have never been so overwhelmed or so unsure in my life. I don’t know if this is the right choice. But… I like him. I like him a lot. And he likes me. And I don’t want to…” Eliot sighed, breaking their gaze and letting his head fall against the headboard, eyes closed.

“I just - I have made so many mistakes in my life, Julia. So many. And I just feel like Q and I’s orbits crossing isn’t a coincidence. I haven’t connected with someone so strongly…. ever. And not exploring that - seems wrong? Like… first off, he asked me, I’ll have you know. But I couldn’t…. I can’t ignore this, Julia. I like him so much. I can’t not try.”

A moment passed between, the tension palpable. 

“You’re lying to him, El,” Julia whispered. 

Eliot looked over at her, his hesitant eyes meeting hers.

“So are you.” 

He could feel Julia shift. “We’re lying to him.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Will the next chapter be next week? Next month? Next year? Who knows! But I promise that even if this story takes me 52 years to finish, I will be finishing it :-) Thanks for sticking around <3
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